Newedge APAC CEO Outlines Plans to Pursue Growth Opportunities

HONG KONG, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Newedge, the new force in global brokerage, has redefined its strategic orientations to take advantage of the business opportunities in the Asia Pacific region taking shape for 2009, announced Pierre Gay, recently appointed Chief Executive Officer for the Newedge Asia Pacific zone.

The financial futures and options business, which is Newedge's core business, is performing very well in an environment where investors are increasingly likely to trade listed products, he said.

Besides the optimization of its core business, Newedge plans to actively continue the diversification of its activity in the Asia-Pacific region, with Pierre Gay setting forth three main priorities for 2009: the Prime Brokerage, Foreign Exchange (FX) and Metals businesses.

In recognition that these three areas contain significant growth potential in the Asia-Pacific markets and in response to feedback from customers, under Pierre Gay's direction, Newedge has hired and set up specialized execution teams over the last several months that expand the services Newedge offers in these three business lines.

"Newedge's global network and expertise in the FF&O business is a key advantage in these turbulent times, but not the only one. With experienced execution teams for Prime Brokerage, FX and Metals now in place in the key regional markets -- Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and Sydney -- we expect significant growth coming from those three businesses," commented Pierre Gay.

Before the creation of Newedge resulting from the merger of Fimat and Calyon Financial in January 2008, Mr. Gay was Calyon Financial's Managing Director -- Asia. In this position since 2005, he played an important role in the merger of the two entities. He also established a joint-venture in China with CITIC, a reputable China financial service institution, which has more than 40 staff.

Prior to joining Calyon Financial, Mr. Gay served in a number of positions within the Credit Agricole Group including as Global Head of Trading on Liquid Bonds for Calyon. He has also served as Head of Fixed Income for Credit Agricole Indosuez Tokyo; Global Head of the Money Market desk for Credit Agricole Indosuez Paris; and, Head of French Franc Treasury for Credit Agricole Paris. He began his career in financial services as a trader on short term products with Credit Lyonnais.

About Newedge

Newedge, a 50/50 joint venture between Societe Generale and Calyon, is a major force in global multi-asset brokerage business, with a world-leading position in the execution and clearing of listed derivative products. With a presence in 25 locations in 17 countries, Newedge offers a full range of clearing and execution services covering options and futures contracts for financial products and commodities, as well as for money market instruments, bonds, FX, equities, and commodities on OTC markets. Newedge provides a range of value added services, including prime brokerage, asset financing, an electronic platform for trading and order routing, cross margining, and the centralized reporting of client portfolios. Newedge, which primarily serves institutional clients, provides access to more than 80 exchanges. Newedge's 3000+ employees form a close-knit, multinational team that can innovatively respond to its clients in fast-moving markets. For more information about Newedge Group, http://www.newedgegroup.com .

"Newedge" refers to Newedge Group and all of its worldwide branches and subsidiaries. Newedge Group is authorized by Banque de France. In the UK, Newedge Group (UK Branch) is regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the conduct of designated investment business in the UK. In France, Newedge Group is regulated by the Autorite des Marches Financiers and by the Commission Bancaire. Only Newedge USA, LLC is a member of FINRA and SIPC (SIPC only pertains to securities-related transactions and positions). Newedge Group (UK, Frankfurt and Dubai) does not deal with, or for, Retail Clients (as defined by MiFID and Dubai Financial Services Authority). Only Newedge Canada Inc. is a member of the CIPF. Not all products or services are available from all Newedge organizations or personnel. Consult your local office for details. http://www.newedgegroup.com .

Newedge contacts

Hong Kong:

Florence Macaire

Tel: +852-3657-8947

Email: florence.macaire@newedgegroup.com

Paris:

Jean-Christophe Huertas

Brand & Communications Director

Tel: +33-155-07-20-51

Email: jean-christophe.huertas@newedgegroup.com

Chicago:

Barry Neumann

Tel: +1-312-441-4564

Email: barry.neumann@newedgegroup.com

New York:

Nachamah Jacobovits

Tel: +1-646-557-8101 or +1-917-715-0998

Email: nachamah.jacobovits@newedgegroup.com

London:

Siobhan Janaway

Tel: +44-207-676-8051

Email: siobhan.janaway@newedgegroup.com