The Tokyo Commodity Exchange is set to launch a virtual trading environment, Tocom-V Trade, in a bid to help users get a feel for the bourse's new Nasdaq OMX technology-based platform.
The commodity exchange's new system, based on Nasdaq OMX package software, went live in May, offering new features such as a wider array of order types and a circuit breaker system.
The virtual trading environment, to launch in August, will be offered for free via a PC connected to the Internet and use the same Tocom order types and trading rules as in the physical system.
The exchange says the service will help existing and new members establish confidence in, and improve understanding of, the new system and trading rules. In addition, it can also be used by IT vendors as an advertising tool.
The bid to boost confidence in the new platform comes in the wake of a tough launch. Less than a month after it went live, the system was hit by an outage, which forced a halt in trading for three hours. The glitch, which was blamed on a defective router, led to president and CEO, Masaaki Nangaku, volunteering to take a 10% hit on his pay for the month. Shortly after this, Nangaku was replaced as CEO by Tadashi Ezaki.