Markit to launch credit default swap index for CEEMEA

UK based Markit will launch iTraxx CEEMEA, a credit default swap (CDS) index referencing corporate debt in Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa in the third quarter of 2012.

The company said that the index will allow investors to gain or hedge exposure to the CEEMEA region’s corporate credit risk and will include corporate issuers from multiple industry sectors.

According to the firm, inclusion in the index is based on the liquidity of a company’s CDS and the amount of debt outstanding in the market.

Markit managing director of Indices Neil McPherson said, "We are launching this index in response to increasing client demand for an efficient tool to hedge and gain exposure to corporate debt issued in the CEEMEA region."

Markit will also launch the Markit CDX LatAm Corporate index, an index tracking Latin American corporate debt in the third quarter of 2012.