Hong Kong aims to create oil futures market: financial secretary

Hong Kong is looking at developing its own oil futures market as China tries to counter the effect of the commodity’s rocketing price, the city’s financial secretary said on Monday.

The new market would help fix the disparities that Asian buyers face when purchasing oil, which is priced in Dubai, London and New York and does not take into account local conditions, John Tsang said.
“This system has led to Asian importers paying more for oil than their counterparts in Europe and the US,” he said in an article published in local newspapers here.

“It is increasingly important for China to develop a full-fledged oil market, a crucial part of which would be an internationalised oil derivatives market that would allow Asian oil importers to hedge their oil price risks in a fair and transparent manner in the Asian time zone.”

Asia Times