Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing said Tuesday it will introduce Asian time-zone price discovery and clearing on the London Metal Exchange (LME).
The initiative was unveiled by chief executive Charles Li in the exchange's 2013-15 strategic plan, along with plans to establish an LME-licensed warehouse network in the mainland and the potential to extend the LME's production suite into the Hong Kong market.
Introducing a third, earlier, round of trading sessions is the biggest shift in the way the 135-year-old LME operates since the launch of its electronic platform over a decade ago, and would run counter to the global industry trend toward shutting down trading pits in favor of faster, cheaper electronic platforms.