China Aims for Stable Launch of Stock Futures

Last Friday, China's State Council, the country's cabinet, approved the introduction of stock index futures and margin lending. In the past three years, senior securities regulators repeatedly said the conditions for the launch of the stock index futures were ripe.

Even within the past two weeks, talk of the index generated a considerable amount of buzz in the markets. Shang Fulin, chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said twice in December that the futures would be introduced at the appropriate time. The trial balloon worked. On December 30, shares soared on the rumor of the imminent launch.