Yesterday Monday saw the debut of the Hong Kong Futures Exchange's H-share futures contract, in which 1,367 December contracts switched hands. Brokers believe this is a respectable start and expect the contract to see volumes of 10-15% of the Hang Seng Index by the end of the week. Yesterday, 20,813 December futures contracts on the HSI traded.
Hedge funds are likely to be the biggest players in the new market, which makes it easier and cheaper to short H shares than buying the basket of stocks.
Although in 1998 the HKFE introduced a red-chip futures contract that was a flop it remains listed but is not traded anymore, brokers have...
