As China prepares for the forthcoming launch of equity index futures, the authorities are taking a justifiably careful approach to reform, argues Dean Owen, chief China representative at futures broker Newedge.
The China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX) is on the verge of launching the widely anticipated futures on the CSI 300 index of leading Shanghai and Shenzhen stocks in the second quarter of this year.
According to a posting on the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s website on January 8, it may take three months to prepare for the launch.
Yet that belies the real time it has taken to develop this product. It was back in December 2001 that the then director of the CSRC’s futures division announced preparations were under way to launch an equity index future.
In January this year, more than eight years later, CFFEX was granted “in principle” approval by the State Council to...