From Financial Times:
China’s securities regulator is likely to grant the first licences to trade index-based futures within the next month. However, the long-delayed launch of the country’s first financial futures product is not expected before June and could even be pushed back until next year.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission is under pressure from investors and brokers to launch the instruments. Many of the country’s 180 futures brokers applied for licences in September, at the same time as the China Financial Futures Exchange was formally opened in Shanghai.
An initial batch of 10 brokerages is expected to get the first licences next month but one regulatory source said trading in the first product – a futures contract based on the Shanghai Shenzhen 300 Index – would not start until June or July at the earliest.[Full Text]
