Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) announced today a plan to introduce several metal and energy contracts targeting China, the world’s largest commodity consumer, South China Morning Post reported. The statement comes ahead of an industry gathering for the London Metal Exchange (LME), a wholly owned unit of HKEx, which starts on Thursday in Hong Kong. Two sources familiar with the exchange told South China Morning Post that the new metal contracts to be launched involve copper, aluminum and nickel. This marks the latest attempt by HKEx to promote commodity trading after paying US$2.33 billion in December 2012 to buy the LME.