[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 135 (Friday, July 15, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-17348]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: July 15, 1994]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-34356; International Series Release No. 681; File No. 
SR-Amex-94-20]

 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule 
Change and Amendment Nos. 2 and 3 by the American Stock Exchange, Inc. 
Relating to the Listing and Trading of Options on the Mexico Index

July 12, 1994.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act''), 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1), notice is hereby given that on June 3, 
1994, the American Stock Exchange, Inc. (``Amex'' or ``Exchange'') 
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') the 
proposed rule change as described in Items I, II and III below, which 
Items have been prepared by the self-regulatory organization. On June 
27, 1994, the Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule 
change, the subject matter of which was superseded with the filing of 
Amendment No. 2 (``Amendment No. 2''), which was filed on July 7, 
1994.\1\ Amendment No. 1 was formally withdrawn in Amendment No. 2. On 
July 11, 1994, the Exchange filed Amendment No. 3 (``Amendment No. 3'') 
to the proposed rule change to provide for certain standards to be used 
in conjunction with the maintenance of the Index, as described 
below.\2\ The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments 
on the proposed rule change and Amendment Nos. 2 and 3 from interested 
persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\See Letter from Howard Baker, Senior Vice President, 
Derivative Securities, Amex, to Michael Walinskas, Derivative 
Products Regulation, SEC, dated July 7, 1994. In the original 
proposal, the Amex sought approval for the listing of options based 
upon a Mexico Index that was capitalization-weighted and based upon 
shares of twenty Mexican stocks or American Depository Receipts 
(``ADRs'') traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Amex or that were 
National Market securities. The Amex proposed that the Index be 
classified as a broad-based index. Amendment No. 2 supersedes the 
original proposal and Amendment No. 1.
    \2\See Letter from Howard Baker, Senior Vice President, 
Derivative Securities, Amex, to Michael Walinskas, Derivative 
Products Regulation, SEC, dated July 11, 1994.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Amex proposes to trade options on the Mexico Index (``Mexico 
Index'' or ``Index''), a new stock index developed by the Amex, based 
on Mexican stocks (or ADRs thereon) traded on the Amex, the New York 
Stock Exchange (``NYSE''), or that are National Market (``NM'') 
securities traded through the National Association of Securities 
Dealers Automated Quotation system (``NASDAQ''). The text of the 
proposed rule change is available at the Office of the Secretary, Amex 
and at the Commission.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, the Amex included statements 
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and 
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The 
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in 
Item IV below. The Amex has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections 
A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The Amex has developed a new index called the Mexico Index, based 
entirely on shares of widely held Mexican stocks and ADRs traded on the 
NYSE, Amex, or that are NM securities. The Index contains securities of 
highly-capitalized companies with major business interests in Mexico. 
These companies have been drawn from a variety of industries, including 
construction, telecommunications, banking, shipping, tobacco, media, 
and food and beverage, to reflect the diversity of the Mexican market.
Index Calculation and Maintenance
    The Index is calculated using a ``modified'' equal dollar weighting 
methodology. Two of the ten component securities have been given a 
higher weighting in the Index in order to more closely approximate the 
weight the industry represented by that component has in the Mexican 
stock market. The Amex believes that this will allow the Index's value 
to correlate more closely with the Bolsa Mexican Indice de Precios y 
Cotizaciones, which is commonly known as the ``Bolsa Index.'' For 
example, Telefonos de Mexico, which is the largest capitalized 
component in the Index, will have a higher weight in the Index, but not 
as high as if the Index were capitalization weighted. The Amex believes 
that this ``modified'' equal dollar weighting methodology allows the 
Index to be a more accurate reflection of the Mexican market since it 
provides a higher weighting for the larger capitalized components, yet 
does not permit those stocks to dominate the Index. The Exchange 
believes that this method of calculation is important given the great 
disparity in market value of a few of the Index's component stocks. It 
has been the Exchange's experience that options on market value 
weighted indexes dominated by one or two component stocks are less 
useful to investors, since the index will tend to represent the one or 
two components and not the group as a whole.
    The following is a description of how the ``modified'' equal dollar 
weighting calculation method works. As of the market close on June 17, 
1994, a portfolio of ten Mexican stocks was established representing an 
investment (rounded to the nearest whole share) of $24,000 in the 
largest capitalized stock in the Index, $12,000 in the second largest, 
and $8,000 in each of the remaining companies in the Index. The value 
of the Index equals the current market value (i.e., based on U.S. 
primary market prices) of the sum of the assigned number of shares of 
each of the stocks in the Index portfolio divided by the Index divisor. 
The Index divisor was initially determined to yield the benchmark value 
of 231.00 at the close of trading on June 17, 1994. Each quarter 
thereafter, following the close of trading on the third Friday of 
March, June, September and December, the Index components will be 
ranked in descending market capitalization order and the Index 
portfolio adjusted by changing the number of whole shares of each 
component stock so that the largest capitalized stock in the Index 
represents 24% of the Index value, the second largest represents 12%, 
and each of the remaining companies represent 8%. If the number of 
components in the Index increases to greater than ten securities, the 
Amex will continue to weight the two components with the highest market 
capitalizations 24% and 12%, respectively. The remaining components 
will then be weighted equally.\3\ For example, if two new components 
are added to the Index, the two securities with the highest market 
capitalizations will be assigned a 24% and 12% weighting, respectively, 
while the remaining ten securities in the Index would be weighted 6.4%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\See Amendment No. 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If it becomes necessary to remove a stock from the Index, the 
Exchange will either add a Mexican stock having characteristics that 
will permit the Index to remain within the maintenance criteria 
specified in its rules and the Generic Narrow-Based Index Approval 
Order,\4\ or will permit the Index to remain at nine stocks until the 
next quarterly rebalancing, at which time the Exchange will replace the 
component so that the Index will continue to have at least ten 
components.\5\ The Exchange has chosen to rebalance following the close 
of trading on the quarterly expiration cycle because it allows an 
option contract to be held for up to three months without a change in 
the Index portfolio while at the same time, maintaining the 
``modified'' equal dollar weighting feature of the Index. If necessary, 
a divisor adjustment is made at the rebalancing to ensure continuity of 
the Index's value. The newly adjusted portfolio becomes the basis for 
the Index's value on the first trading day following the quarterly 
adjustment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34157 (June 3, 1994), 
59 FR 30062 (June 10, 1994) (``Generic Narrow Based Index Approval 
Order'').
    \5\See Amendment No. 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Amex states that it has had experience making regular quarterly 
adjustments to a number of its indexes and has not encountered investor 
confusion regarding the adjustments, since they are done on a regular 
basis and timely, proper and adequate notice is given. An information 
circular is distributed to all Exchange members notifying them of the 
quarterly changes. This circular is also sent by facsimile to the 
Exchange's contacts at the major options firms mailed to recipients of 
the Exchange's options related information circulars, and made 
available to subscribers of the Options New Network. In addition, the 
Exchange will include in its promotional and marketing materials for 
the Index description of the ``modified'' equal dollar weighting 
methodology. As noted above, the number of shares of each component 
stock in the Index portfolio remain fixed between quarterly reviews 
except in the event of certain types of corporate actions such as the 
payment of a dividend other than an ordinary cash dividend, a stock 
distribution, stock, splits, reverse stock splits, rights offering 
distribution, reorganization, recapitalization, or similar event with 
respect to the component stocks. In a merger or consolidation of an 
issuer of a component stock, if the stock remains in the Index, the 
number of shares of that security in the portfolio may be adjusted, to 
the nearest whole share, to maintain the component's relative weight in 
the Index at the level immediately prior to the corporate action. In 
the event of a stock replacement, the average dollar value of the 
remaining portfolio components will be calculated and that amount 
invested in the stock of the component, to the nearest whole share. In 
all cases the divisor will be adjusted, if necessary, to ensure Index 
continuity
    The Amex will calculate and maintain the Index, and pursuant to 
Exchange Rule 901C(b) may at any time or from time to time substitute 
stocks, or adjust the number of stocks included in the Index, based on 
changing conditions in Mexico. However, the Exchange will not decrease 
the number of Index component stocks to less than nine or increase the 
number of component stocks to greater than thirteen without prior 
Commission approval.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\See Amendment No. 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The value of the Index will be calculated continuously and 
disseminated every 15 seconds over the Consolidated Tape Association's 
Network B.
Expiration and Settlement
    The Exchange proposes to trade cash-settled, European-style Index 
options (i.e., exercises are permitted at expiration only). The 
Exchange also proposes that Mexico Index options will have trading 
hours from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. EST. As with other index options 
traded on the Amex, the options on the Index will expire on the 
Saturday following the third Friday of the expiration month 
(``Expiration Friday''). The last trading day in an option series will 
normally be the second to last business day preceding the Saturday 
following the third Friday of the expiration month (normally a 
Thursday). Trading in expiring options will cease at the close of 
trading on the last trading day.
    The Index value for purposes of settling a specific Mexico Index 
option will be calculated based upon the primary exchange regular way 
opening sale prices for the component stocks. In the case of NM 
securities, the first reported sale price will be used. As trading 
begins in each of the Index's component securities, its opening sale 
price is captured for use in the calculation. Once all of the component 
stocks have opened, the value of the Index is determined and that value 
is used as the settlement value of the option. If any of the component 
stocks do not open for trading on the last trading day before 
expiration, then the prior day's last sale price is used in the 
calculation.
    The Exchange plans to list options series with expirations in the 
three near-term calendar months and in the two additional calendar 
months in the March cycle. In addition, longer term option series 
having up to thirty-six months to expiration may be traded. In lieu of 
such long-term options on a full-value Index level, the Exchange may 
instead list long-term, reduced-value put and call options based on 
one-tenth (1/10th) the Index's full-value. In either event, the 
interval between expiration months for either a full-value or reduced-
value long-term option will not be less than six months.
Eligibility Standards for Index Components
    The Index's component securities all have major business interests 
in Mexico, and have been selected on the basis of their market 
capitalization, trading liquidity, and representation of Mexican 
business industries. The components represent the largest and most 
liquid of all Mexican securities trading in the U.S. and the Index 
tracks closely the performance of the Bolsa Index, a benchmark for the 
Mexican stock market.
    The Exchange has represented that it will ensure that the Index 
initially and thereafter satisfies the listing and maintenance criteria 
set forth in the Generic Narrow-Based Index Approval Order. In choosing 
among Mexican stocks that meet the initial minimum criteria set forth 
in the Generic Narrow-Based Index Approval Order (as well as Exchange 
Rule 901C), the Exchange will select stocks that: (1) Have a minimum 
market value in U.S. dollars of at least $75 million,\7\ except that 
for each of the lowest weighted component securities in the Index that 
in the aggregate account for no more than 10% of the weight of the 
Index, the market value may be at least $50 million; (2) have an 
average monthly trading volume in the U.S. markets over the previous 
six month period of not less than one million shares (or ADRs) except 
that for each of the lowest weighted component securities in the Index 
that in the aggregate account for no more than 10% of the weight of the 
Index, the trading volume shall be at least 500,000 shares in each of 
the last six months; (3) have at least 90% of the numerical Index value 
and at least 80% of the total number of component securities meeting 
the current criteria for standardized option trading set forth in 
Exchange Rule 915; and (4) are reported securities that trade on either 
the NYSE, Amex (subject to the limitations of Rule 901C), or are NM 
securities. In addition, no individual stock in the Index may represent 
more than 25% of the Index weight (at the time of rebalancing) and the 
five highest weighted stocks may not constitute more than 60% of the 
Index weight (at the time of rebalancing).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\In the case of ADRs, this represents market value as measured 
by total world-wide shares outstanding.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Amex will ensure that not more than 20% of the weight of the 
Index is represented by ADRs overlying foreign securities that are not 
subject to comprehensive surveillance sharing agreements.\8\ Currently, 
one component ADR, accounting for 8% of the Index value, has the 
majority of its trading volume occurring on the Bolsa Mexicana de 
Valores, an exchange with which the Amex does not currently have in 
place an effective market information sharing agreement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\See Amendment No. 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If the Index fails at any time to satisfy the maintenance criteria 
set forth in the Generic Narrow-Based Index Approval Order and Exchange 
Rule 901C, the Exchange will immediately notify the Commission of that 
fact and will not open for trading any additional series of options on 
the Index unless such failure is determined by the Exchange not to be 
significant and the Commission concurs in that determination, or unless 
the continued listing of options on the Mexico Index has been approved 
by the Commission under Section 19(b)(2) of the Exchange Act.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\See Amendment No. 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exchange Rules Applicable to Stock Index Options
    Amex Rules 900C through 980C will apply to the trading of regular 
and long-term contracts based on the Index. These Rules cover issues 
such as surveillance, exercise prices, and position limits. 
Surveillance procedures currently used to monitor trading in each of 
the Exchange's other index options will also be used to monitor trading 
in options on the Index. The Index is deemed to be a Stock Index option 
under Rule 901C(a) and a Stock Index Group under rule 900C(b)(1). With 
respect to Rule 903C(b), the Exchange proposes to list near-the-money 
(i.e., within ten points above or below the current index value) 
options series on the Index at 2\1/2\ point strike (exercise) price 
intervals when the value of the Index is below 200 points. In addition, 
the Exchange proposes to establish, pursuant to Rule 904C(c), a 
position limit of 7,500 contracts on the same side of the market.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\Telephone conversation between Howard Baker, Senior Vice 
President, Derivative Securities, Amex, and Howard Kramer, Associate 
Director, Division of Market Regulation, SEC, on July 12, 1994. In 
Amendment No. 2, the Amex proposed position limits of 10,500 
contracts. That portion of Amendment No. 2 which refers to position 
limits has been withdrawn.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In anticipation of substantial customer activity in the options on 
this Index (including institutional activity), the Exchange seeks to 
have the ability to utilize its Auto-Ex system for orders in the Index 
options of up to 50 contracts. Auto-Ex is the Exchange's automated 
execution system which provides for the automatic execution of market 
and marketable limit orders at the best bid or offer at the time the 
order is entered. The ability to use Auto-Ex for orders of up to 50 
contracts will provide customers with deep, liquid markets as well as 
expeditious executions. The Amex represents that it has the necessary 
systems capacity to support new series that would result from the 
introduction of Mexico Index Options.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\See Letter from Edward Cook, Jr., Managing Director, 
Information Technology, Amex, to Michael Walinskas, Derivative 
Products Regulation, SEC, dated July 8, 1994.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with 
Section 6(b) of the Act in general and furthers the objectives of 
Section 6(b)(5) in particular in that it is designed to prevent 
fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to promote just and 
equitable principles of trade, and is not designed to permit unfair 
discrimination between customers, issuers, brokers and dealers.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange believes the proposed rule change will impose no 
burden on competition.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants or Others

    The Exchange has neither solicited nor received written comments on 
the proposed rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 
Commission Action

    The Amex requests that the proposed rule change be given expedited 
review and accelerated effectiveness pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of 
the Act.
    Within 35 days of the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register or within such other period (i) as the Commission may 
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to 
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to 
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
    (A) By order approve the proposed rule change, or
    (B) Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule 
change should be disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested person are invited to submit written data, views and 
arguments concerning the foregoing. Persons making written submissions 
should file six copies thereof with the Secretary, Securities and 
Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street NW., Washington, DC 20549. Copies 
of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements 
with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the 
Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed 
rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those 
that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions 
of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for inspection and coping at the 
Commission's Public Reference Section, 450 Fifth Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20549. Copies of such filing will also be available for 
inspection and copying at the principal office of the Amex. All 
submissions should refer to File No. SR-Amex-94-20 and should be 
submitted by August 8, 1994.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12) (1993).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-17348 Filed 7-14-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-M