The London Metal Exchange has chosen Shanghai as the first stop on a global tour to drum up interest in the new contracts
The London Metal Exchange (LME) has chosen Shanghai as the starting point of its first foreign roadshow for the plastics futures contracts it will launch next May.
Two contracts, one each for polypropylene and linear low-density polyethylene, will begin trading on May 27, using a similar system to that used for trading metals. Futures instruments allow producers and consumers to hedge against price fluctuations.
'The total value of global plastics trading is similar to that of metals, about US$120 billion a year,' Anna Campopiano, director of corporate affairs for LME, told a press briefing at the Shanghai Futures Exchange.
'The growth rate of plastics trading is faster. We hope China will be an important customer and play a big role in the market. Its economy is very important and dynamic,' she said.
The LME roadshow will move on to Singapore this week, Houston and Chicago in mid-November and Antwerp at the end of next month.