"Right now, China's market is more domestic, we are trying to bring out the Chinese market to international players," APEX's Chief Executive Eugene Zhu told reporters after the launch.APEX's September palm olein futures contract opened at $635 a tonne and was last down 0.3 percent. A November contract was up 1.7 percent after opening at $650 a tonne. "Traded volume in the first half-hour seems very good, but we need to see if this is just first day euphoria or if the market can sustain," said a palm oil futures trader in Kuala Lumpur. He declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak with media.Under the contracts, palm olein is for physical delivery, on a Free on Board (FOB) basis, at Pasir Gudang and Port Klang in Malaysia, while in Indonesia, it is for delivery at Belawan and Dumai ports. Those two countries produce nearly 90 percent of the world's palm oil, used to churn out products ranging from chocolate to soap.APEX's major shareholders include Chinese conglomerate CEFC China Energy, Chinese futures commission merchant Xinhu Group and other international investment funds.China is the world's No.2 buyer of palm oil, with the commodity comprising about 70 percent of its edible oil imports.Zhu, the former head of the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE), said the palm futures would complement other exchanges in the region.

Source: The Star May 25, 2018 05:48 UTC