Foreign banks plan derivatives trade

ABN AMRO Holding, Credit Suisse First Boston and ING are planning to become the first overseas banks to offer derivatives to Chinese companies. The three banks have all been licensed to trade derivatives and could start business before the end of October. Allowing banks to trade derivatives enables Chinese companies to hedge currency and other risk. According to the Shanghai-based China Foreign Exchange Center, Chinese banks traded a record $151.1 billion of currencies in 2003 and accounted for 7% of global trade. In total to date. Ten overseas banks have been licensed to trade derivatives in China; another 10 have are awaiting approval.