Peter Shepherd, director of sales and marketing for Euronext.Liffe's market solutions division, told reporters at the annual Futures Industry Association (FIA) conference that there was no timeframe at this point but the "technical side" of setting up the hub could be done quite quickly. Regulatory approval was still needed from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Euronext.Liffe says it is also in talks with the Chicago Board of Trade (Cbot) about opening a joint operation in Singapore, which would also give the US exchange its first hub in Asia.

Last year the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) said it was establishing a telecommunications hub in Singapore to provide customers in the Asia Pacific region with expanded access to its Globex platform. The CME hub is expected to be launched in the second quarter of 2005.

Both the Cbot and CME also opened telecommunication hubs in Europe last year in a bid to attract business from outside the US.

Earlier this week, Spanish derivatives exchange Meff said it had opened its new hub in Chicago, which will offer trading in Ibex 35 futures and options contracts. Meff is the third European exchange to set up a hub in the US city after Eurex and Euronext.Liffe.

Also at the FIA conference, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX) said it plans to launch "event-driven" futures contracts which will allow investors to bet on the outcome of events, such as US unemployment figures or the size of a crop harvest. The exchange says Susquehanna International Group, an options market maker, will provide liquidity for the new contracts.