Another eight Chinese enterprises, including China Aluminum Industry, have also gained access to futures markets abroad.

Based in east China's Jiangxi Province, the copper company boasts the country's two largest opencast copper mines and a leading modern copper smeltery. Its flagship product, highly pure cathode copper under the brandname "Guiye", has been registered at the London Metal Exchange and allowed to enter international markets without inspection.

China had for long imposed strict restrictions on futures trading by domestic companies on overseas markets due to the high risks, and even banned such trading at the end of 1997.

The ban was lifted in May 2001 when rules were promulgated on offshore futures hedging by state-owned enterprises to allow them to trade futures that correspond to their products and raw materials.

(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2003)