KL futures trading faces hurdles<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's sole commodity exchange is
\nstill battling to convince the government it is ready to start
\ntrade in financial futures despite being allowed two years ago to
\ncompete with a private outfit in the same business.<\/p>\n
Exchange officials said yesterday the Kuala Lumpur Commodity
\nExchange (KLCE)'s target date to commence trading in September in
\ninterest rate and government bond futures might be hampered by
\nthe Securities Commission ruling that the two formed a common
\nclearing house.<\/p>\n
\"We already have our own clearing house. We are ready to
\nproceed on our own if the Securities Commission gives the nod
\nnow,\" said KLCE's chief executive Syed Jabbar Shahabuddin.<\/p>\n
\"We don't know how long we have to wait if the commission
\ninsists on waiting for the other party to prepare itself,\" said
\nSyed Jabbar, referring to the Kuala Lumpur Options and Financial
\nFutures Exchange (KLOFFE) set up by politically connected
\nparties.<\/p>\n
KLOFFE, which has yet to commence business, was initiated in
\n1990 by listed Renong Bhd., a company linked to Prime Minister
\nMahathir Mohamad's United Malays National Organization (UMNO),
\nNew Straits Times Press, and securities firms Rashid Hussain Bhd.
\nand Zalik Securities.<\/p>\n
The Securities Commission's ruling is deemed a major setback
\nfor the 14-year-old KLCE, which has been seeking to diversify
\nfrom its lackluster commodity base to remain viable.<\/p>\n
The government decided in 1992 that KLOFFE took off with index
\nfutures and stock options, while KLCE focused on interest rates
\nand governments futures contracts to prevent direct competition.<\/p>\n
KLCE's chairman, Syed M.A. Alhady, who earlier said the
\ngovernment would be sounding the death knell of the KLCE if it
\nbarred it from diversifying into financial futures, said KLOFFE
\nwanted a clearing house with an expensive electronic system the
\nKLCE could ill-afford.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kl-futures-trading-faces-hurdles-1447893297",
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