Reforms on way to enhance futures market

Foreign institutes will soon be allowed to hold shares in futures companies in a move to further open up the Chinese futures market, the chief of the China Securities Regulatory Commission said at a forum in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Tuesday.

Jiang Yang, vice-chairman of CSRC, listed a series of reform measures to enhance the growth of the futures market, including developing futures financial derivatives in equity, interest rates and foreign exchange rates, and facilitating strategic resources such as crude oil and agriculture-related products being listed.

New means of exchange are encouraged, such as share options, commodity indexes and carbon emission rights.

Listed futures must be further categorized to better serve the real economy, Jiang said. Futures exchanges and companies must bear in mind the needs of the real economy, agriculture, rural areas, and farmers.

He also emphasized the need for improvement in the evaluation and feedback mechanisms of futures items.