London, 28 June 2010

Clarkson Securities Limited, the derivatives broking arm of Clarkson PLC, is pleased to announce that is has executed the first cleared Container Freight Swap Agreement (CFSA) trade, between Kerry Logistics UK and Credit Suisse. Cleared through LCH.Clearnet Limited (LCH), the trade will settle against the Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI). Commenting, Alex Gray, CEO of Clarkson Securities Ltd said: “The first cleared CFSA is a major development for our market and CSL is delighted to have executed both the first Over-The-Counter (OTC) and the first cleared trades.  We are pleased to have worked with LCH to bring this product to clearing and believe it will open the door to participation in this market by all sectors of the containerised shipping and logistics industries.”

Brian Dempsey of Kerry Logistics UK, added: “We believe that container freight derivatives will become an essential tool for any logistics company seeking to manage freight exposure on behalf of its diverse client base.  As vice-President of the newly formed Container Freight Derivatives Association (CFDA), I look forward to working with other industry leaders to further develop the product.  Our inaugural meeting and forum in Shanghai on 14 September will provide an ideal platform to introduce CFSAs to the wider market.”

Speaking further about the development, Kristian Thunes of Credit Suisse said: “Credit Suisse is always keen to explore new products that can offer innovative solutions for our clients.  Both as a risk management tool and a as a trading instrument, we can see that the potential for trading CFSAs is huge.  We have seen interest in these agreements from a diverse range of market participants and believe the ability to offer a cleared product will be essential to the market’s growth and development market growth.”

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