Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation Pioneer Offshore Fund Automation in a New Collaboration with Calastone

AsiaNet 48800

LONDON and TAIPEI, Taiwan, Oct. 29, 2012 /PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

    Calastone, the global fund transaction network today announced a pioneering

new collaboration with the Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation (TDCC). On

5th November, TDCC will celebrate the launch of their innovative fund order

routing service in Taiwan. The collaboration between the TDCC and Calastone

will enable Taiwan Fund distributors, master agents and offshore fund managers

to benefit from the global trend towards automated order flow processing.

    (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121025/570743 )

    Approximately half of all manual orders with cross-border fund managers

originate from Taiwan, representing approximately three million faxed orders

per year. On 20th September this year Calastone hosted a seminar in Taipei,

where a capacity audience debated and examined the mounting evidence for order

handling automation in Taiwan and the benefit automation offers to offshore

trades.

    In recognition of Calastone's experience and expertise in operating a

global funds transaction network for more than 300 fund distributors and fund

manager clients, on October 6th, 2012 the TDCC and the Financial Supervisory

Commission (FSC) approved Calastone as an official service provider for the

TDCC. In addition, in September 2012, Calastone was the first service provider

to have successfully completed and tested its fund messaging communication

interface with the TDCC. This message testing also included leading independent

asset manager Aberdeen Asia.

    Calastone handles over 1 million funds messages per month over its network

and is growing at an exceptional 6.2% average compound monthly rate since

November 2008. Calastone has developed strong expertise in servicing and

automating Taiwan bank distributor orders, by operating a live messaging

service in Taiwan since 2010, with 4 Taiwan Bank fund distributors currently

processing daily offshore fund orders via Calastone on the SWIFT network.

    Calastone already offers live and proven electronic connectivity into the

main offshore fund managers and transfer agents, covering close to 70% of

offshore fund ranges registered for sale in Taiwan. 21 leading offshore fund

managers active in Taiwan have already confirmed joining our Taiwan service

including Aberdeen, Barings, BNP Paribas Investment Partners, Invesco, Pictet,

Robecco, Threadneedle and Schroders. Calastone is committed and actively

working with all offshore fund managers active in Taiwan with the objective to

swiftly provide 100% offshore funds connectivity and coverage for Taiwan

distributors.

    Low Hon Yu, Chief Operating Officer at Aberdeen Asset Management Asia

Limited, said, "Calastone has provided automated fund transaction processing to

us around the region and in Europe for the past three years. Since 2011 it has

been helping to bring automation to some of our Taiwan distributors, where the

majority of trades are still processed manually. Now that successful testing

with the TDCC is complete, we are hopeful that the whole industry will quickly

embrace automation bringing cost and operational efficiencies to the entire

process chain. We look forward to receiving the first automated production

order via this new Calastone service."

    Julien Hammerson, Chairman of Calastone, said, "We are delighted to partner

with the TDCC in making automated transactions available to all Taiwan based

distributors. We applaud the TDCC and the FSC for taking progressive decisions

to realise competitive opportunities for Fund managers and are committed to

providing the best service for the market. We have demonstrated our commitment

to the Taiwan fund market by opening an office in Taiwan, by establishing a

dedicated Mandarin speaking customer service team and by developing a Chinese

interface for our online execution management system (EMS). We have delivered

and tested our connection to the TDCC in record time and have every confidence

that our automated transaction network will have a valuable role to play as it

brings increased transparency, stability and reduction in cost for all our

participants."

    Notes to Editors:

    About Calastone

    Calastone is the global transaction network for the mutual fund industry.

    Calastone was established in March 2007 by three joint-founders, Campbell

Brierley (Chief Information Officer), Kevin Lee and Ian Taylor (Chief Executive

Officer). From industry experience they recognised that, unlike the

institutional market, communications in the mutual fund industry between the

fund providers, distributors and their transfer agents was nothing short of

archaic. Messaging is still conducted by phone, fax, email, and excel

spreadsheet; and the industry has been lacking a transaction network capable of

handling and interpreting instructions.

    Calastone presents, for the first time, the opportunity for the whole

mutual fund market to become fully electronic. The magic of the Calastone

Transaction Network (CTN) is that participants are able to send/receive

instructions in any way they prefer whatever their messaging protocol. Also,

for the first time, participants can track their trades and manage exceptions

on a real-time electronic basis throughout the transaction lifecycle. Real-time

tracking through Calastone's execution management system helps firms reduce not

only their costs but also operating risks.

    For further information please visit http://www.calastone.com

    For further information contact:

    For Calastone:

    Sebastien Chaker

    Managing Director, Head of Asia

    Sebastien.Chaker@Calastone.com

    Leo Chen

    Director Asia Branch

    Tel: +852-2805-1051

    Email: Leo.Chen@Calastone.com

    Media contacts:

    Julia Streets

    Streets Consulting Ltd

    Tel: +44(0)207-959-2235

    Email: Julia.Streets@Streetsconsulting.com

    SOURCE: Calastone