Sydney plans electronic futures exchange

02 February 1999

Sydney plans electronic futures exchange

THE Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) has teamed up with a information technology company and Agtex Australia, an agricultural services group, in a bid to set up an electronic market for physical commodities.

The market will be known as the Commodities Exchange of Australia and initially provide spot and forward markets for grains, pulses, oilseeds and other agricultural products.

A feasibility study will be completed by the end of March and a launch date announced shortly after.

Les Hosking, chief executive, said the new exchange would promote transparency in transactions involving rural commodities, and help farmers and buyers gauge supply and demand more accurately.

Most traders of rural commodities rely on offshore markets or the SFEs futures contracts as the only public pricing mechanisms available to assess the market.

• Financial Times 02/02/99 page 34