The Singapore Mercantile Exchange expects to start commodity derivatives trading in the first quarter after receiving regulatory clearance, it said today.

 

The bourse will trade precious metals, base metals, energy, agriculture, currency pairs and commodity indexes using an electronic platform developed by Financial Technologies India, it said. The exchange had not decided which products to begin with, it said.

 

The opening of Singapore’s second commodity exchange comes as banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. are adding staff in Asia to benefit from surging metals and energy prices. Chairman Terry Duffy of CME Group Inc., the world’s largest futures exchange, in October predicted “great growth” in Asian derivatives as the region’s economy expands.