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The Hong Kong bourse is expected to launch yuan futures products as soon as the middle of the next year, becoming the second exchange in the world to do so, a senior official said yesterday.

 

"We will bring the proposal (to launch the futures) for approval next Wednesday," Paul Chow, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx), the operator of Asia's largest listed bourse, told reporters yesterday on the sidelines of a luncheon hosted by Hong Kong Securities Institute.

 

If the proposal is approved by the HKEx board, a six-month consultation will be held before the products formally hit the market, Chow added.

 

"It takes time for the market and investors to know the new products. If everything goes smoothly, the product will be a reality in the middle of next year," he said.

 

The yuan futures will have two types, against the Hong Kong dollar and the US dollar.

 

The minimum value of a contract will be HK$1 million (US$128,000) to be settled in Hong Kong dollars.

 

In August, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) launched yuan futures and options contracts, providing an alternative route for giving exposure to the yuan, which is not fully convertible.

 

The products will provide a new channel for retail investors to make gains on the appreciation of the yuan, which some economists claim is still undervalued.

 

"It provides a platform for retail investors to bet on the yuan's appreciation," said Enlighten Securities and Futures Ltd Executive Vice-President Ricky Cheung.

 

"Given the handful of deposits for each contract, the entrance fee is reasonable for public investors."

 

And compared with CME, Hong Kong's yuan futures products will be "priced at a more competitive level," said Chow, pointing out that CME set too high a threshold to attract investors.

 

Hong Kong investors are currently restricted to an over-the-counter market in non-deliverable forwards. Yuan-denominated futures have yet to be introduced to the mainland.

 

Apart from yuan futures, the HKEx is studying the availability of other commodity futures products such as oil, metal and agricultural products, Chow said, without elaborating.

 

Facing the rapid growth of dual listings in Hong Kong and the mainland, Chow said the bourse has set up a unit to work with the mainland authorities.

 

"We are studying whether the bourses in Hong Kong and the mainland can work more closely. For instance, we could announce news in both markets such as trading suspension, resumption and important corporate announcements."

 

To attract more listings outside the mainland, HKEx will allow more companies incorporated overseas to float shares in Hong Kong.

 

Currently, only companies registered in Hong Kong, the mainland, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands can apply for listing in Hong Kong.

 

HKEx is now considering expanding its scope, and Chow said he hoped to allow enterprises from countries such as Australia and Japan.

 

Hong Kong has witnessed a growing number of mainland companies going public, with giants such as the Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China raising nearly US$30 billion this year.

 

Mainland companies have become the major players in Hong Kong's stock market, accounting for more than 30 percent of the 1,100 stocks.

 

They accounted for around 44 percent of the total market capitalization.

 

But after the mainland lifted its one-year ban on share sales in May, a number of mainland companies, small and medium-sized ones in particular, scrapped or postponed their Hong Kong listing plans, prompting HKEx to widen listing sources.

 

(China Daily December 8, 2006)