A little competition is just what the COMEX and LBMA need.
Wouldn't it be sweet if some master-of-the-universe trader caught rigging the markets and violating the rules were to find himself on the receiving end of an old-fashioned caning?
Let's see how the arbitrage develops, because you know it will. I wonder how transparent and liquid this exchange will be. It is certainly in an advantageous location.
Bloomberg
Singapore Mercantile Exchange to Start Gold, Energy Futures Trade Aug. 31
By Christian Schmollinger
Aug 17, 2010
Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX) will begin live trading operations on Aug. 31, offering both gold and energy contracts, according to an e-mailed statement.
The exchange will offer futures for gold physically delivered in the island city-state, Brent oil denominated in euros and financially settled West Texas Intermediate crude, the statement said. The bourse also plans euro-dollar futures.
“SMX’s launch is a step in the right direction as we leverage off Singapore’s unique position as a premier financial and commercial hub in the region,” Thomas McMahon, the exchange’s chief executive officer, said in the statement. “The launch will provide market players in Asia the flexibility to trade products generic to regional trade flows within the Asian business day.”
The Singapore Mercantile Exchange is backed by Financial Technologies (India) Ltd., which operates the largest commodity bourse in India. Other commodity exchanges in Asia include Singapore Commodity Exchange and projects in China, Tokyo and Dubai.
