China puts the brakes on foreign commodity futures plans

Beijing has moved to limit the activities of foreign futures exchanges in China by issuing a ban on the establishment of warehouses for the physical delivery of contracted commodities, the South China Morning Post reported. The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced the ban through a statement, dated July 25 and posted on its website Thursday. Analysts said the government is concerned that foreign speculators and warehouse operators will create instability by exploiting the volatility in global commodity markets. The move could undermine the fledging Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, which is still waiting on Hong Kong regulators for a license to start operations. The exchange wants to launch a US dollar fuel oil contract – to be traded in Hong Kong but delivered on the mainland – in the first quarter of next year.