Dubai, August 19 2014 - Dubai Mercantile Exchange (“DME”), the Middle East’s premier international energy futures and commodities exchange today announced the approval of Straits Financial LLC as a Clearing Member.

Straits Financial LLC, is a Futures Commission Merchant (“FCM”) registered with the Commodity Futures trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the National Futures Association (“NFA”) and is also a full Clearing Member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”), the Chicago Board of Trade (“CBOT”), the Commodity Exchange (“COMEX”), the New York Mercantile Exchange (“NYMEX”) and Clearport, the OTC Clearing Exchange. Straits Financial LLC, together with other subsidiaries under Straits Financial Group offers a wide range of services including execution, brokerage, clearing and electronic trading, providing clients the gateway to trade in the world’s leading exchanges. Straits Financial Group is the brokering division of CWT Limited, one of the largest publicly-listed logistics companies in South East Asia.

DME has set a number of records in recent months. The exchange continued its growth curve in the first six months of 2014 with its flagship DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract (DME Oman) posting an average daily volume trading growth of over 52 per cent with 9,143 lots per day.   

Christopher Fix, Chief Executive Officer of DME, said:

“I am very pleased to welcome Straits Financial LLC on board as a clearing member. I see great potential in this mutually rewarding partnership to expand our volumes and enhance market access to our flagship DME Oman Contract which is the most relevant oil benchmark for the Asian market.”

Jeremy Ang, CEO of Straits Financial Group, said:

“Becoming a clearing member on the DME is a strategic development for us as we offer enhanced access to new markets and trading opportunities for our valued customer base. For our energy-focused clients, the DME has a vital role to play by providing oil price discovery and risk mitigation.”

For more information, please contact:

Mayssam Hamadeh - Head of Corporate Communications [email protected] or +971 506523754

Walid Majzoub - TRACCS (PR agency) on [email protected] or +971 509448389