London Metal Exchange plans new products, warehouses in China

The London Metal Exchange, the world's biggest industrial metals bourse, is looking for ways to expand in China.

LME Chief Executive Officer Garry Jones said in an interview in London on Wednesday that the exchange wants to boost its share of the market by adding new products, and that plans to extend its network of 700 warehouses into China are still "on the shopping list".

He said the bourse may also add a membership category for introducing brokers and provide more access to proprietary firms that trade for their own account.

"We are building a modern world-class exchange," Jones said. "It's all about new business. We are trying to grow the market. We need to increase the number of products, we have to increase the geography and we need to look at new users who don't currently use the LME."

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd bought the LME for $2.2 billion in 2012.

HKEx Chief Executive Officer Charles Li said at the LME's annual dinner on Tuesday that the Asian bourse has finished "beefing up" the LME after tripling staff to 300 and investing in clearing.

The LME accounted for more than 80 percent of industrial metals futures and traded $14.6 trillion worth of contracts last year.

While China is behind more than 40 percent of global industrial-metals demand, the nation makes up no more than a quarter of LME's trading, the exchange said.

In January, the LME accepted GF Financial Markets (UK) Ltd as its first Chinese-owned broker to trade on its floor, joining JPMorgan Chase & Co and eight other companies.

Jones said LME officials have had 32 meetings with customers after the exchange announced plans to increase trading fees next year.

Martin Pratt, chief operating officer at London-based Triland Metals, said in a quarterly metals report that the magnitude of the increases "surprised even the most pessimistic of LME users".

Stripping out clearing, some increases will be closer to 100 percent, said Michael Overlander, chief executive officer of Sucden Financial Ltd.

While the LME is listening to customers, and "possibly" fees may be changed, "the broad direction is that there will be a fee increase", Jones said.

The exchange said last month that trading and clearing charges on average will be raised 34 percent next year.