HONG KONG (Commodity Online) : The first day of trading at the Hong Kong commodity Exchange promised a lot for the entire Asian region as nearly 1500 1 kg gold futures contracts were traded till afternoon Wednesday.
The Exchange, presently offering only 1 kg gold futures will start a silver contract in July followed by products involving precious and base metals, agriculture and energy. Commodity indexes are also in the pipeline.
Analysts said the HKME will challenge other established bourses in Europe and US, like the NYMEX, CME and LME.
Trading of gold and other major commodities has traditionally been dominated by exchanges in Chicago, New York and London.
However, analysts said Asia is experiencing an economic boom led by China and India and this resulted demand for global commodities and the new exchange is aimed at helping traders in the region have a bigger say in setting prices.
The exchange is also set to launch a yuan denominated gold futures to capitalize on growing investor demand for China's gradually strengthening currency, a yuan-denominated gold futures contract will launch in the autumn.
Shareholders in the exchange include Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the country's biggest state-owned commercial lender, and Cosco Group, a state-owned shipping company. EN+ Group, a mining and energy group controlled by Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, is also a shareholder.
The Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange is betting that it will benefit from its proximity to mainland China to drive trading volume. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China with its own financial system.
