Singapore Mercantile Exchange lists Trafigura as trade member

Non-ferrous and oil trader capitalises on Asian players who want access to liquid electronic derivatives market.

Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX), the first pan-Asian multi-product commodity and currency derivatives exchange, on Tuesday announced that Trafigura Derivatives Limited, a subsidiary of a leading global commodities trading group Trafigura Beheer B.V., has signed up as a Trade Member of the Exchange.

Trafigura, one of the largest independent commodities trading company, is also the world's second largest independent non-ferrous trading company and the third largest independent oil trader, according to an SMX report.

Trafigura's primary trading businesses are the supply and transport of crude oil, petroleum products, renewable energies, coal, refined metals, ferrous and non-ferrous ores and concentrates.

Mr. Thomas J. McMahon, Chief Executive Officer of SMX, said, “In keeping with the momentum which is building around our membership base, we proudly welcome Trafigura as one of our valued members. Our contracts are relevant to Trafigura's activities which are spread out across individual Asian and global markets. We look forward to Trafigura's participation in light of our mutual dedication to the energy and metals trading spheres, among many other trade-able segments.”

Mr Tom O’Brien, Director, Trafigura Pte Ltd said: “As a major participant in the Asia Pacific commodity markets, Trafigura welcomes the entry of the SMX, which we see as a key platform for the growth of liquidity in commodity derivatives in the Asian time-zone. It is a proven platform in other important regional markets and we envisage that players in the Asian region will increasingly want access to a liquid electronic derivatives market where a reliable regulatory framework exists and complimentary services such as clearing houses provide a secure trading environment.”

SMX launched trading on 31 August 2010 listing a Gold Futures Contract with physical delivery in high-security vaults in Singapore, WTI Crude Oil, Brent-Euro Crude Oil and Euro-US Dollar Currency Futures Contracts. Multiple product launches will now be introduced into the marketplace after consultation with key industry players such as Trafigura.

The SMX trading platform matches underlying physical commodity flows in Asia with a range of Exchange-cleared derivatives solutions. SMX is committed to listing a diverse product range so as to create and advance a broad-based Asian liquidity pool.