It is the high time for unveiling the financial derivatives market, said Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), at the ongoing 2007 China Financial Derivatives Conference held in Beijing on October 27.

According to Cheng and other high-level financial officials from the central bank, China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), and China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), financial derivatives including stock index futures, interest rate futures, foreign exchange rate futures, and bond futures will come to the market as soon as preconditions are met.

Cheng pointed out that the efficiency of China's financial system lags far behind developed countries. For example, the per-capita profit of the banking industry is much lower than those in developed countries. Moreover, there are pending problems in China's stock and futures markets.

Developing financial derivatives can enhance the nation's financial efficiency and capacity for risk prevention and strengthen international competitiveness, noted Cheng. He also called the steady development of a healthy financial derivatives market based on the demands of economic development and enhancement of supervision, following the principle of opening up under governance.

For more details, please read the full story in Chinese. (http://jjckb.xinhuanet.com/caijing/2007-10/29/content_71546.htm)

(China.org.cn October 29, 2007)