Futures firms should heed govt guidelines

At a futures trading seminar in Beijing Wednesday, Jiang Yang, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, put forward five suggestions to speed up innovation in the futures trading industry.

China's futures market has developed rapidly over the past decade. As the market grew, a basic regulatory framework developed. But even as China's financial markets have opened up, so has the demand for other kinds of financial derivatives.

With the situation as it is, improvements need to be made to the futures trading industry. The current industry should develop into a diversified model, including brokers, consulting companies, asset managers and risk control institutions. Futures companies that perform well should be encouraged to grow into risk control and assets management groups capable of competing in international markets. These companies must make investor interests their top priority. They also need to cultivate more professional talent and figure out ways to develop, evaluate and retain their best employees.

Regulators will also need to provide more support to spur the development of the industry by beefing up laws and regulations.