FILE PHOTO: Investors look at computer screens in front of an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai, China, September 7, 2015. REUTERS/Aly Song
December 2, 2018
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s financial futures exchange said on Sunday it was further relaxing index futures trading rules，reducing margin requirements，cutting trading fees and allowing more trading activities.
In a statement, the China Financial Futures Exchange said it was lowering the margin ratio for CSI300 <0#CIF:> and SSE50 index futures <0#cih:> to 10 percent from 15 percent.
The ratio for small cap CSI500 index futures <0#CIC:> would be lowered to 15 percent from 30 percent.
The exchange said it was making the moves after having “comprehensively evaluated the market risks and actively improving the supervision system”.
“The adjustments are positive measures to optimize stock futures index trading and promote the effective functioning of the market,” it said.
Intraday activity exceeding 50 lots on a single index futures contract would be considered excessive, according to the new guidelines, as opposed to 20 in the past.
The new rules take effect on Monday.
China tightened index futures trading rules during the 2015 crash but has been gradually relaxing rules since early last year.
The exchange said it would track the implementation of the measures, strengthen its market risk monitoring and supervision of trading, and ensure that the stock index futures market is “safe and stable”.
(Reporting by John Ruwitch and Samuel Shen; editing by Darren Schuettler)
