Nomura Asset Management Chooses the RTS Index as Basis for the First Russia-linked ETNs in Japan - S&P

/Standard & Poor's, Moscow, 04.08.08/ - Standard & Poor's, the world's leading index provider, announced today that it has licensed Tokyo-based Nomura Asset Management to use the RTS Index to launch a program of locally traded Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs). Nomura Asset Management has filed for the ETN listing on the Osaka Stock Exchange. "This agreement with Nomura AM represents the most recent in a series of successful licensing agreements generated under our commercial partnership with RTS. This is a pioneering deal in that it adds Japan as a new geographic dimension - while opening up a whole new class of exchange traded instruments, ETNs - based on the RTS Index", said Yuri Morozov, Director of Standard & Poor's Index Services in Russia/CIS. "The RTS index demonstrates Russia's attractiveness to investors from all over the world. ETNs have become one of the fastest growing segments of the global markets and are accessed by more and more investors. We are glad to see that foreign companies are keen to establish equity-linked instruments based on Russian underlyings. Once again, the RTS Index has proven its appeal as the recognized benchmark for the Russian stock market", said Roman Goryunov, Chairman of the Board of RTS, the Russian Trading System. About Standard & Poor's Index Services Standard & Poor's Index Services, the world's leading index provider, maintains a wide variety of investable and benchmark indices to meet an array of investor needs. Its family of indices includes the S&P 500, an index with $1.32 trillion invested and $4.91 trillion benchmarked, and the S&P Global 1200, a composite index comprised of seven regional and country headline indices. For more information, please visit www.standardandpoors.com/indices. About RTS Russian Trading System Stock Exchange is one of the leading stock exchanges in Russia. RTS Index is the main benchmark for the Russian stock market and is based on the 50 most liquid and capitalized shares of Russian companies. FORTS (Futures and Options on RTS) is the leading Russian derivatives market. FORTS combines a developed infrastructure with reliability and advanced trading technologies conformed to more than ten years of successful market development. RTS Stock Exchange gives investors, professional market participants and their clients, both Russian and foreign, a wide range of opportunities in trading shares, bonds, futures and options on the shares and bonds of the Russian companies, RTS Index, Federal Loan Bonds, oil, gold, gas oil, sugar. Some of the latest developments at RTS and on FORTS include extended trading hours on FORTS, introduction of FIX Gateway which went into live test phase in April and daily netting of settlements for the spot market trading with CCP facilities in the seven most liquid Russian stocks. Both RTS and FORTS operate on a fully electronic platform with Direct Market Access for participants. Contacts: Standard & Poor's: Yuri Morozov Tel: +7 495 783-4015 E-mail: Yuri_morozov@standardandpoors.com RTS: Varvara Inozemtseva Tel: +7 495 705-9031 E-mail: pr@rts.ru [2008-08-04]