Eurex, the transatlantic derivatives market co-owned by the German and Swiss exchanges, is to launch its first Asia-based contract later this month, in the latest move by a Western exchange to expand in the rapidly growing region.

Eurex, which expanded across the Atlantic with the $2.8bn (€1.9bn) purchase of the International Securities Exchange in 2007, said it will launch a futures contract based on the MSCI Japan equity index on October 26. The contract, denominated in US dollars, will enable Eurex's US and European clients to track around 350 of Japan's largest listed companies.