Former President of China Securities Regulator Commission (CSRC) Zhou
Daojiong suggested today that the country should launch stock index futures
as soon as possible.
Zhou told Xinhua that the nation's economic fundamental remained unchanged
and domestic companies still expected sound development prospects despite a
changing world economic environment.
His view was broadly agreed by most market analysts, who held the opinion
that time is mature to kick off this kind of futures market.
Market analysts said the introduction of stock index futures would help to
boost the smooth development of the country's stock market by enabling investors
to profit from their anticipation of a share price fall.
Jiang Yang, CSRC Chairman's assistant said earlier that the country was
mulling regulations on contract design, investors' training and risk control for
the upcoming stock index futures.
China launched its new regulation on futures trading last April, extending
its coverage from commodities futures trading to financial futures and option
contract trading. This laid a legal foundation aimed to provide financial
institutions with badly-needed tools to hedge risks.