The futures exchange is bringing in an outside trouble-shooter to oversee its stalled move to electronic trading. Chairman Geoffrey Yeh Meou-tsen said the exchange would hire a project manager to take charge of the operation. The decision comes after the exchange was forced to delay its electronic-migration plan due to problems with its new trading system. Its flagship products, the Hang Seng Index futures and options, were due to move from open outcry to electronic trading in August. However, the move was postponed to next year after the Hong Kong Automated Trading System (HKATS) failed simulation tests. Mr Yeh said the project manager would be appointed before the end of next month after which a comprehensive HKATS review would be conducted. The exchange was disappointed by the postponement and had decided on the appointment to ensure the move was a 100 per cent success, he said. 'The project manager's job is to make sure the migration process is successful and bug-free after the migration,' Mr Yeh said. The move to electronic trading is expected in the first quarter of next year. Mr Yeh said it was 'inevitable' that the stock and futures markets would eventually share a single electronic platform.