China Financial Futures Exchange opens

The China Financial Futures Exchange opened for business on September 8 in Shanghai. The exchange is expected to start trading stock index futures soon, although a spokesman from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) declined to specify when trading will start. The exchange is also eventually expected to trade bond, interest rate futures and currency derivatives.

The new exchange has registered capital of 500 million renminbi ($62.9 million), contributed by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the Dalian Commodities Exchange and the Zhengzhou Commodities Exchange, which each have a 20% stake.

In a press conference last week, Zhu Yuchen, the exchange’s general manager, reportedly said the exchange’s first product was likely to be stock index futures on the Hushen 300 index, which was created in April 2005 and comprises a significant portion of shares listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.