The Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) will launch derivative financial instruments on April 14, using the shares of ten companies on the BSE and the RON/EUR and RON/USD as underlying asset. The first stock derivatives on the BSE will use the shares of the five SIFs, and of Erste Bank (EBS), Banca Transilvania (TLV), Petrom SNP), Transgaz (TGN) and Transelectrica (TEL) as underlying assets “The launch of the futures contracts, using as underlying assets the shares traded on the spot market and EUR/RON and USD/RON exchange rates represent a new step in the strategy of the Bucharest Stock Exchange to diversity the range of products offered to brokers and investors,” stated Stere Farmache, chairman and chief executive of BSE. BSE launched its first derivative instruments mid last year, which used as underlying assets the BET and BET-FI. These instruments, however, were not traded that much, despite the fact that BSE did not charge any fee from brokers for trades in derivatives. BSE will not charge any fee for trading in stock and currency futures until the end of May.