In addition to access to swap products, the BARX launch in Asia gives Barclays Capital clients unrivalled access to the highly liquid US Treasury, agency and TIPS products as well as Japanese Government Bonds on the Bloomberg terminal during Asia trading hours.

BARX was introduced to Bloomberg users in Europe during June 2002 and in the United States during May 2004. In 2003, BARX became the first single dealer platform to offer electronic execution of interest rate swaps in dollars and euros, a move that delivered unparalleled transparency and efficiency to the swaps markets. The BARX platform now includes dozens of government, agency, credit, high yield and emerging market bond and interest rate swap products, and has more than 4,000 individual users on the system. In its recent naming of Barclays Capital as Derivatives House of the Year 2005, Risk magazine cited the "profound effect" the BARX platform has had on the market.

"Bringing our highly successful BARX platform to Asia enhances transparency of pricing, providing our clients with a real competitive advantage, particularly for players in interest rate swap and government bond markets. We recognise that our clients demand liquidity for US products in the Asian time zone, and with the additional access to electronic execution for yen interest rate swaps and JGBs, we believe we've created a unique opportunity for our clients in the region," said Justin Bull, Managing Director and Barclays Capital's Head of Sales in Asia Pacific.

"The expansion of BARX to Bloomberg users in the Asia Pacific region is a reflection of Bloomberg's commitment to the Asia markets," says Alex Bruce of Bloomberg. "This added functionality on the Bloomberg terminal is part of Bloomberg's continuous product enhancements at no additional cost to Bloomberg users."