Feasibility of futures trading to be discussed

Feasibility of futures trading to be discussed

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Commodity Exchange Agency
(Bapebti) will organize a series of seminars and workshops to
discuss futures trading in a number of major cities in the
country before introducing futures transactions.

Bapebti's chairman, Arifin Lumban Gaol, told a three-day trade
workshop at the Ministry of Trade on Saturday that the planned
seminars and workshops are to garner input from private sector
executives and analysts about the feasibility of introducing
futures trading at the commodity exchange.

The commodity exchange currently manages only the physical
trading of coffee and natural rubber with future deliveries
within a period of up to three months, besides organizing the
sales of textiles with export quotas.

Gaol stated that the decision to set up futures trading on the
commodity exchange will be left with the private sector agencies
involved to encourage them to be more responsible for its
sustainable operation. Bapebti will only provide rulings and
guarantee a fair trading mechanism.

"It is important to note that a futures market will be
established only if there is a guarantee that it will be liquid,"
he said.

"The government is very concerned about its liquidity because
several futures commodity exchanges in the world have become
inactive due to changes in technology," Gaol said.

Bremen's tobacco bourse in Germany and the rubber bourses in
the United States, Europe and Kuala Lumpur, for example, have
long been inactive. (rid)