Paris, August 13, 1998 - From Friday, 21 August 1998, market participants will once again be able to trade long-term gilt futures on Matif.

The contract, first launched on 15 July, got off to a strong start but was suspended as of the December 1998 delivery month in response to requests from users that certain features be adjusted. In its new, revised form, maturities of underlying securities have thus been extended from between 7.5 and 11 years to between 8.75 and 13 years. The first delivery month opened for trading on 21 August is December 1998, with trading in the March 1999 delivery month opening on 1 September 1998.

For market participants, Matif's new long-term gilt contract gives users an opportunity to play on convergence of UK long-term rates with those of countries participating in the first round of European monetary union (Emu), as well as uncertainty surrounding the timing of the UK's move to the euro. It offers a host of opportunities for arbitrage and improved hedging.

The contract comes in response to the wish of market participants, particularly in the UK, to benefit from the advantages of electronic trading through NSC. Its low trading costs (FRF 1.70 per contract) are associated with a powerful, open-architecture system that is easy to use and provides a complete view of market depth.

Features of the 5-year gilt contract remain unchanged.

Appendix: :
Specifications for Matif's long-term gilt contracts
Deliverable securities for the December 1998 and March 1999 delivery months.

Contact: Antoinette Bouvier-Darpy - Tel: +33 1 40 28 83 89