TOCOM and SMX Deploy KVH-SingTel Ultra Low Latency Network Solutions

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KVH Co., Ltd. (KVH) and Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), market leaders in low latency services in Japan and Singapore respectively, announced today that Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) and Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX) will provide KVH-SingTel's low latency network solutions to market participants. This will enable the two exchanges to facilitate an ultra low-latency and fully redundant network service between Japan and Singapore.

“Increasingly, trading companies are turning to high-speed network services to gain a competitive edge in the Asian markets. SingTel's proximity hosting and ultra low latency services cater to this rapidly growing demand and enhance the high-speed trading capabilities of companies in the region.”

TOCOM and SMX have been discussing potential collaborative opportunities to enhance liquidity on both the Japan and Singapore commodity markets. With the KVH-SingTel's low latency network, market participants can simultaneously access both exchanges with the highest speed and scalability currently available for high-performance trading.

In global financial markets, Singapore is considered along with Tokyo to be an important center for traders from overseas. KVH extended its global Ethernet network into Singapore in April this year to support low latency needs in the trading community through the partnership with SingTel. KVH's Tokyo Data Center has been endorsed by TOCOM as its access point location and proximity hosting provider since 2008. The expansion of ultra low-latency connections between Tokyo and Singapore opens another opportunity for global market participants.

Mr. Tadashi Ezaki, President and CEO of TOCOM said, "As Asia's leading futures exchange, TOCOM is implementing measures to reach out to the global investment community. Through these initiatives, market participants would be able to enjoy broader access and trade more products on various markets with more arbitrage opportunities and increase liquidity. We expect KVH to continue supporting our endeavors to establish a strong foothold in Asia and other global financial and commodity markets."

Mr. Thomas McMahon, CEO of SMX said, "SMX views the alliance as an important vehicle to unify the Asian derivatives landscape. Asia will be adding to the global benchmarks in terms of trading prices and indices. One fundamental element in building a comprehensive product range in the region lies in collaboration and in harnessing technology between exchanges. The appointment of KVH-SingTel as a connectivity point between Japan and Singapore enables both parties to deliver on this promise."

Ms. Miyuki Suzuki, President and CEO of KVH said, "We are very pleased that both TOCOM and SMX have partnered our services for ultra low-latency connections between Japan and Singapore. KVH offers ultra low latency access to multiple exchanges, brokers and market data vendors from a single location as an ideal global High-Frequency Trading environment in Japan. We are expanding its capability to Singapore, Hong Kong and other key financial cities in Asia to support rapidly growing low-latency needs in the market."

Mr. Lee Kai Hock, SingTel's Vice President of Business Marketing, said, "Increasingly, trading companies are turning to high-speed network services to gain a competitive edge in the Asian markets. SingTel's proximity hosting and ultra low latency services cater to this rapidly growing demand and enhance the high-speed trading capabilities of companies in the region."

"Through the innovative use of infocomm technologies, we seek to open the doors to more exciting growth opportunities for trading companies and further strengthen Singapore's position as a global financial hub."

About TOCOM

Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc. (TOCOM) is Japan's largest commodity futures exchange with a trading volume of 29 million contracts, representing approximately 90% market share, in 2009, and one of the most prominent exchanges in Asia. Futures contracts on a variety of industrial products are traded (i.e.: gold, silver, platinum and palladium in the precious metals market; crude oil, gasoline, kerosene and gas oil in the oil market; and rubber) and Nikkei-TOCOM Commodity Index, as well as Gold Options are traded. TOCOM was established in 1984 as a result of a merger between the Tokyo Textile Exchange, founded in 1951, the Tokyo Rubber Exchange and the Tokyo Gold Exchange.

TOCOM's recent achievements include completing demutualization in December 2008, launching a new trading platform based on the Nasdaq OMX technology and introducing a night session in May 2009, as well as listing the Nikkei-TOCOM Commodity Index futures contract, TOCOM NEXT, in March 2010. The night session is scheduled to be extended until 4:00am JST in September 2010.

For more information about TOCOM, please visit www.tocom.or.jp.

About SMX

Singapore Mercantile Exchange is a pan-Asian multi-product commodity and currency derivatives exchange situated in Singapore. It offers a comprehensive platform for trading a diversified basket of commodities including futures and options contracts on precious metals, base metals, agriculture commodities, energy, currencies and commodity indices.

SMX offers market participants the benefits of market transparency, time zone convenience, price discovery and benchmarking, price risk management and multiple connectivity options. Counterparty clearing and settlement risk is effectively managed through its clearing house, the Singapore Mercantile Exchange Clearing Corporation. The regulator of Singapore's financial markets – the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) – has granted 'Approved Exchange' status to SMX since 2010.

SMX is backed by the world's leading creator of exchanges - Financial Technologies (India) Limited - which has successfully established and currently operates 10 exchanges in India, Dubai, Singapore, Africa, Mauritius and Bahrain.

SMX is a member of leading international derivatives industry associations, such as the Futures Industry Association (FIA), the Swiss Futures and Options Association (SFOA), the Association of Futures Markets (AFM) and the Futures and Options Association (FOA).

More information is available at www.smx.com.sg

About KVH

KVH was established in Tokyo in 1999 by the private equity firm of Fidelity Investments as an Asia-Pacific IT/communications service provider. Through its facility-based optical fiber networks and data centers, KVH offers integrated communications and IT management solutions that include managed services, data networking, internet access, and voice services to business customers. KVH has a presence in Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka (and in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore through affiliates) and serves over 1,700 corporate customers in broad industry segments such as financial services, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, media, and e-commerce.

KVH launched its proximity hosting service in 2008 using its Tokyo Data Center as a hub based on experience in providing network connections with Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) and Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE). KVH Tokyo Data Center has been endorsed by Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) and Tokyo Financial Exchange (TFX) as their access point location and proximity hosting provider. In addition, KVH has been appointed as Proximity vendor for the OSE new derivatives trading system since June 1, 2010. More information on KVH can be found at www.kvh.co.jp/en/ .

About SingTel

SingTel is Asia's leading communications group with operations and investments around the world. Serving both the corporate and consumer markets, it is committed to bringing the best global communications solutions to customers in the Asia Pacific and beyond.

With significant operations in Singapore and Australia (through wholly-owned subsidiary SingTel Optus), the Group provides a comprehensive portfolio of services that includes voice and data solutions over fixed, wireless and Internet platforms, as well as infocomm technology and pay TV.

To serve the needs of multi-national corporations, SingTel has a network of 37 offices in 20 countries and territories throughout Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States. These offices enable SingTel to deliver reliable and quality network solutions to its customers, either on its own or jointly with local partners.

The Group also has major investments in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand. Together with its regional partners, SingTel is Asia's largest multi-market mobile operator, serving more than 293 million customers in eight markets.

SingTel employs more than 23,000 people worldwide and had a turnover of S$16.87 billion (US$11.82 billion) and net profit after tax of S$3.91 billion (US$2.74 billion) for the year ended 31 March 2010. More information can be found at www.singtel.com and www.optus.com.au