All eyes on commodities trading
The first LME Week outside London will showcase ambitions for the sector, enabling HK to move on from HKMEx failure, backers say
Commodities traders from around the world will begin gathering in Hong Kong for the annual "LME Week" on Friday - the first time the London Metal Exchange get-together will be held outside London.
Hong Kong brokers have welcomed the decision to stage the event in the city and say it will increase awareness of the little-known commodities trading here and help offset the impact of the closure of the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx).
LME Week Asia starts with a workshop for international and local media about how commodities' trading and the LME work. This will be followed by a seminar on June 25 and more workshops on June 26 and 27 for commodities traders, users and producers to exchange views.
Commodities experts from Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank, Jiangxi Copper, Bank of China, Dalian Commodities Exchange and Zhengzhou Commodities Exchange will attend.
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEx), the local operator of the stock and futures markets, completed a deal to buy the LME in December for £1.39 billion (HK$16.9 billion). Established 136 years ago, the LME is the world's largest metal exchange trading a wide range of commodities, including copper, aluminium and lead. Contract turnover last year was US$14.5 trillion.
The acquisition allowed HKEx to step into commodities trading to capture mainland users who have become the world's largest consumers of many commodities including steel and copper.