CSRC greenlights futures rules

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has formally approved the final regulations for stock index futures trading, state media reported. A notice on the China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFE) website also said it would begin accepting applications for accounts on February 22. Investors must have a minimum of RMB500,000 (US$73,000) to open an account. However, a CSRC official warned that "opening an account does not necessarily signal the beginning of trading." The futures exchange published trading rules in June 2007 and announced revisions in January this year raising the minimum trading margin to 12% from 10% and lowering the position limit to 100 from 600.