BIZCHINA / Center |
China's stock index futures ready to take off: Shang(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-10-28 10:02 Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said on Saturday that the country has basically completed system and technical preparations for the launch of its first stock index futures. The development of financial derivatives can improve the country's financial efficiency and help the country better handle financial risks," Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, told the conference, stressing the development should go in a "steady way". Cheng said the stock index futures is for the time being the one most ready for launch. He said the introduction of the stock index futures would help boost the smooth development of China's stock market by enabling investors to profit from their anticipation of a share price fall. However, the threshold for investment in the stock index futures should be set at a relatively higher level to avoid irrational investors, and the threshold could be lowered when the market becomes mature, Cheng said. The country's new regulations on futures trading came into effect in April, extending its coverage from commodities futures trading to financial futures and option contract trading. This laid a legal foundation for the introduction of the stock index futures, foreign exchange futures and option and other financial derivatives, which will provide financial institutions with badly-needed tools to hedge risks. |
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