Jiang Yang, general manager of the SFE, said that the feasibility study of the derivative market was finished in late June, including the design of contracts, formulation of rules and personnel training.

Jiang said that compared with developed countries, China lagged far behind in the development of derivatives markets. In 2000, the book value of financial derivatives surpassed that of inter-bank operations and stock exchanges in the world financial markets.

He noted that the development of the derivatives market would help expand the financial market.

Besides stock index futures, the SFE is also considering other derivatives, such as interest futures and foreign exchange rates futures. Jiang said Shanghai was aiming to be one of the major derivatives market in the Asia Pacific region.

(Xinhua News Agency August 28, 2002)