The agreement enables Chi-Tech to integrate IBM WebSphere MQ Low Latency Messaging as part of the matching platform it provides to clients around the world. It also allows the company to include the IBM messaging technology in platforms deployed for the regional Chi-X market centres.

IBM's WebSphere MQ Low Latency Messaging is a high speed messaging transport optimized for today's high volume, low-latency requirements of financial marketplaces and participant firms. The technology was developed in IBM's labs in Haifa, Israel as part of the company's market-leading research and development programme. Version 2.2 offers industry-leading messaging performance of up to 90 million messages per second. In tests using IBM's new shared memory transport, latency as low as one microsecond has been demonstrated on IBM's new BladeCenter HS22.

Chi-Tech provides trading infrastructure technologies and services to exchanges, alternative trading venues, and market participant firms. As part of the company's product development programme and the suite of technology options it provides, Chi-Tech employs best-in-class technologies from vendors such as IBM as part of a focused strategy to offer a range of flexible solutions that increase performance and reduce cost and risk for clients.

"Chi-Tech selected WebSphere MQ Low Latency Messaging as a messaging backbone for our high performance, low latency matching technology", stated Richard Leung, Chi-Tech Chief Technology Officer, "assuring that our platform continues to meet the speed and mission-critical reliability requirements of today's algorithmic and high frequency trading communities."