Mainland stock regulators will likely launch the country's first stock index futures contracts at the end November, sources close to the securities watchdog were quoted as saying today.

The country will unveil a timetable for the launch of the index futures later this month after the 17th National Conference of the Central Commission of Communist Party of China, Hong Kong-based Finet reported, citing unnamed sources.

The index futures will be put into formal operation late in November and Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors won't face legal hurdles to trade the derivative, according to Finet.

Huang Yuncheng, deputy director of the futures department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said the market is prepared and the regulator is on track to educate investors.

Zhang Xiaogang, the head of the research and development department of China Financial Future Exchange, said a high threshold will be set at the beginning to prevent the market from overheating.

(Shanghai Daily October 8, 2007)