Futures, options show more signs of opening-up

A green light given to foreign investors regarding investment in China's onshore futures and options market will help elevate liquidity in the domestic derivatives market and provide more asset allocation tools for foreign investors, experts said.

All of the five major Chinese futures exchanges－the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, the Dalian Commodity Exchange, China Financial Futures Exchange and Shanghai International Energy Exchange－announced late on Friday that qualified foreign institutional investors and renminbi QFIIs are allowed to trade in 23 designated commodity futures, 16 option contracts, and stock option contracts in China.

The announcement was made after China Securities Regulatory Commission Vice-Chairman Fang Xinghai's comments at Friday morning forum on further opening up the country's futures markets. More internationalized commodity and financial futures products should be rolled out, he said.