The Taiwan Futures Exchange (Taifex) is set to launch Taiwan Mid-Cap 100 Index Futures (M1F) on December 9 to provide more flexibility to asset and wealth managers and support more diverse trading strategies.

Until now, weighted indexes based on large-cap stocks and indexes of sectors (such as electronics and finance), the Taifex says, have featured heavily in Taiwan’s futures and commodities markets. However, Taiwan mid-cap stocks with growth potential have been increasingly attracting the attention of traders.

M1F is based on the FTSE TWSE Taiwan Mid-Cap 100 Index, which represents listed companies ranked 51st to 150th by market capitalization, enabling spot market traders, asset managers and wealth management companies to fully capture the performance of mid-cap companies.

The FTSE TWSE Taiwan Mid-Cap 100 Index, jointly compiled by the Taiwan Stock Exchange (Taiex) and FTSE, tracks a diverse range of industries and offers stable market representation, with the weight of the top 10 constituents ranging from 1.5% to 3%, eliminating overconcentration risks. In addition, the index represents just 16% of the Taiex index, providing trading opportunities that are different from large-cap stocks.

M1F features a multiplier of NTD 10 per index point and can be traded during Taifex’s regular and night trading sessions, allowing traders to respond to real-time changes in global markets. For investors and asset managers trading small- and mid-cap exchange-traded funds, M1F provides a vital hedging tool and will create more trading opportunities between futures and spot markets.

The launch of M1F marks another milestone for Taifex, it adds, underscoring its commitment to continually introduce new products that enhance trading flexibility and diversification and meet the evolving needs of investors.