Vega-Chi to Launch US High Yield Bond Platform

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - May 31, 2012) -

Vega-Chi US Limited ("Vega-Chi") is pleased
to announce the upcoming launch of its US high yield bond electronic
trading platform in the third quarter of this year. The Vega-Chi
alternative trading system (ATS) will be the first electronic trading
platform of its kind dedicated to high yield bonds in the US.

Participation will be limited exclusively to institutional investors.
Vega-Chi will create an alternative pool of liquidity where buy-side
institutions can trade directly with each other in an anonymous manner
which bypasses the broker-dealer establishment and is free of conflicts
of interest. There are no upfront or ongoing participation costs and
participants pay a small fee only when they execute a trade.

Participants will benefit from the ability to execute trades inside the
traditional bid/offer spread quoted by brokers and dealers since they
will no longer be required to trade through such intermediaries. All
activity in the ATS will be anonymous.

Vega-Chi has already begun the on-boarding process with more than 50
high yield bond institutional investors and expects to launch in the
second half of the third quarter with a minimum of 50-70 participants.
Banks who typically act as intermediaries in the high yield bond market
face a perfect storm of increased regulation, rising capital
requirements, higher funding costs, and a high cost base, all of which
reduce their ability to commit capital and service high yield bond
clients effectively. In addition, the implementation of Dodd-Frank
will likely reduce their ability to maintain some of the previous
trading business models whose profits were based on a high degree of
proprietary trading and positioning. The Vega-Chi ATS aims to fill the
market gap created by such ongoing structural shifts in the industry,
which have occurred alongside a significant decline in market liquidity
and increase in transaction costs.

Vega-Chi will use the same market-proven trading technology utilized by
the company's trading platforms in Europe, which was designed with
extensive input with clients and has been in use since early 2010.

Constantinos Antoniades, CEO, said "We are very excited about the
launch of our upcoming US high yield bond trading platform. The client
response has been tremendous. We have already started the process with
a good number of large clients who see the need for such a platform in
the marketplace and support our launch. Our clients believe a
significant portion of high yield trading can be executed
electronically and anonymously, bypassing the middle-men and achieving
a better price execution."

David Parker, Head of High Yield Sales, said, "It was only a matter of
time before a portion of the high yield bond market migrated to an
electronic framework. We believe clients are ready to embrace this
shift, which allows them to improve their economics by reducing
transaction costs as well as increasing the level of direct control
they have over management of their positions."

Vega-Chi Limited (parent of Vega-Chi US Limited) already operates two
similar successful electronic trading platforms in Europe, one for
European high yield and subordinated financial bonds and one for
European and Asian convertible bonds.

For more information go to  www.vega-chi.com  or contact:

David Parker, (212) 271-2906

Chris Albrecht, (212)-271-2905

                    This information is provided by RNS
          The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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