BEIJING (Commodity Online) : After the successful launch of 32 troy ounces gold futures and 1000 troy ounces silver futures, Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx) is planning to launch Yuan denominated gold and silver futures.
The Exchange also aims to complete its precious metal suite before the end of 2011 with platinum and palladium futures, followed by contracts in base metals, energy, agricultural products and commodity indices.
According to Barry Cheung, Chairman of theHKMEx, it will continue to work closely with market participants in China and internationally to develop innovative products that suit their specific needs.
He was addressing a group of senior executives from China’s top 50 commodity producers at a Beijing seminar jointly held by the Exchange and ICBC.
With a deep pool of liquidity in China and considerable advancements made in the internationalization of the renminbi, demand for renminbi investment products will grow even more remarkably going forward, he said.
He also said a robust international commodities exchange in China will help satisfy the country’s insatiable demand for a wide range of commodities, and contribute to the continual development and evolution of its commodity market.
China has surpassed Japan to become the world’s second largest economy and its growing demand for commodities is expected to continue.
In 2010, China’s major commodities imports stood at around $18.1 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate of 16.3% in the last 15 years.
The country now imports over four million barrels of oil a day, and accounts for between 10% and 55% of the global consumption of a range of core commodities from crude oil to iron ore.
China’s three commodities exchanges in Shanghai, Dalian and Zhengzhou have also grown considerably, with combined total trading volume in futures contract nearly doubled between 2008 and 2010.
However, China’s striving commodities market is virtually limited to local market players. With a lack of foreign participation due to currency and regulatory restrictions, benchmark prices of almost all commodities continue to be set by exchanges overseas, in non-Asian time zones.
