Apex gets MAS approval to become third derivatives exchange
Asia Pacific Exchange (Apex) - Singapore's newest derivatives bourse - has received approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to become the country's third derivatives exchange and clearing house, it announced yesterday.
Apex plans to begin offering a US dollar-denominated palm olein future as its first contract in the second quarter of this year, it said.
It will also offer other futures and options contracts covering commodity and financial derivatives products, including agriculture, energy, petrochemical, metal, interest rates and stock indices.
Apex said its major shareholders include Chinese conglomerate CEFC China Energy, Chinese futures commission merchant Xinhu Group and other international investment funds.
"There is a huge market for commodities futures trading in Asia, and we believe there is room for more exchanges in the region.
"We see ourselves as playing a complementary role to existing exchanges," said Apex chief executive Eugene Zhu, who was chief executive of China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE).
COMPLEMENT
Apex said its palm olein contract will complement the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange's benchmark crude palm oil futures contract and DCE's refined, bleached and deodorised palm olein futures contract.
Reuters reported in August that Apex plans to offer a range of products "related to the Chinese economy".
Palm oil comprises more than 70 per cent of China's edible oil imports of about 5 million tonnes a year. The country is the world's second-largest palm oil buyer after India.
Crude palm oil futures are most widely traded on Bursa Malaysia and those prices are considered the global benchmark.
Indonesia and Malaysia produce nearly 90 per cent of the world's palm oil. - REUTERS
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