Markit Announces Roll of the Markit iTraxx Asia Indices

Markit iTraxx Asia ex-Japan Main and Markit iTraxx Japan 80 will not roll

London – Markit today announced that the Markit iTraxx Asia indices will roll into their ninth series on 20 March and 21 March 2008. Markit is the owner of the Markit iTraxx indices, and a leading provider of independent data, portfolio valuations and OTC derivatives trade processing to the global financial markets.

Markit iTraxx Asia, a family of synthetic indices referencing the most liquid names in the Asian bond markets, will roll as follows:
• Markit iTraxx Asia ex-Japan HY - 20 March 2008
• Markit iTraxx Asia ex-Japan IG - 20 March 2008
• Markit iTraxx Australia - 20 March 2008
• Markit iTraxx Japan Main - 21 March 2008, and
• Markit iTraxx Japan HiVol - 21 March 2008.

Changes to index construction
The Markit iTraxx Asia ex-Japan Main index and the Markit iTraxx Japan 80 will not roll into Series 9. The decision was taken based on dealer polls conducted by Markit. However Markit iTraxx Asia ex-Japan HY and IG, sub indices of the Markit iTraxx Asia Ex-Japan Main index, will roll on 20 March 2008, having concentrated liquidity since they started trading in September 2007.

Changes to index composition
Based on liquidity polls, the following changes have been made to the Markit iTraxx Asia family of indices:
• Two constituents were replaced in both the Markit iTraxx Asia ex-Japan IG and the Markit iTraxx Asia ex-Japan HY.
• Two constituents were replaced in the Markit iTraxx Australia index.
• Four constituents were replaced in the Markit iTraxx Japan Main index and two were replaced in the Markit iTraxx Japan HiVol.

Detailed constituent lists are published on www.markit.com and www.indexco.com.

- Ends -

For further information, please contact:

Teresa Chick
Managing Director, Corporate Communications
Markit
Email: teresa.chick@markit.com
Telephone: +44-20-7260-2094

Caroline Lumley
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Markit
Email: caroline.lumley@markit.com
Telephone: +44-20-7260-2047

Note to Editors:

The investment banks licensed to trade the Asia-Pacific iTraxx indices include:

ABN AMRO, ANZ Bank (Australia only), Aozora, Barclays Capital, Bear Stearns, BNP Paribas, CALYON, Citi, Credit Suisse, Daiwa Securities (Japan only), Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Mitsubishi Securities, Mizuho (Japan only), Morgan Stanley, Nikko Citigroup, Nomura, Royal Bank of Scotland, Shinsei, Société Générale (Asia ex-Japan and Australia), Standard Chartered (Asia ex-Japan only), UBS and Westpac Banking Corporation (Australia only).

About Markit

Markit is the leading provider of independent data, portfolio valuations and OTC derivatives trade processing to the global financial markets. The company receives daily data contributions from 90 dealing firms, and its services are used by almost 1,000 institutions to enhance trading operations, reduce risk and manage compliance.

Changes in the Composition of the Markit iTraxx Japan Series 9 vs. Series 8

Markit iTraxx Japan Series 9
IN		OUT
iTraxx Japan
East Japan Railway Company		Nankai Electric Railway Co., Ltd
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.		Nikko Cordial Corporation
Nishimatsu Construction Co., Ltd		Takashimaya Company, Limited
Nomura Securities Co., Ltd		TOKYU CORPORATION
iTraxx Japan HiVol
IHI Corporation		Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc.
TAISEI CORPORATION		Nankai Electric Railway Co., Ltd.

Changes in the Composition of the Markit iTraxx Asia ex-Japan Series 9 vs. Series 8