APEX derivatives bourse gets green light in Singapore

The Asia-Pacific Exchange, set up by a consortium of Chinese companies, has received final consent from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, making it the first Chinese-backed derivatives exchange to be launched in an overseas market.

APEX, which has about 60 employees, plans to start trading in the second quarter of this year. The exchange will offer futures and options contracts covering commodity and financial derivatives products, including agriculture, energy, petrochemicals, metals, interest rates and stock indices. Its first contract is for US dollar-denominated physically delivered palm olein futures.

It has also obtained a license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to operate a clearing house.