9th Annual FIA Asia Derivatives Conference
3-6 December 2013
St. Regis, Singapore 

The FIA Asia Derivatives Conference is unique to similar events because of its high-quality delegates, program, and exhibitors. Five-hundred and fifty senior delegates from 22 countries and more than 150 firms attend this annual event. Executive-level and other senior managers comprise 76% of the delegate list, making FIA Asia the place to network in the Asia-Pacific region.

Grand Hyatt Mumbai
Grand Ballroom I, Banquet Level
Off Western Express Highway
Santacruz East 400055, India 
Friday, 26 April 2013
2:00pm - 5:00pm (Mumbai time) 

Seminar information

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“In resolving extra-territorial issues, it is helpful if regulators can focus on achieving broadly similar regulatory outcomes, rather than identical regulations,” Lee told the FIA Asia conference.  “Regulators will have to recognize that exact alignment of detailed rules may not be possible or even desirable, as market characteristics and legal regimes differ.  However, what is important is that we all end up with broadly similar outcomes.”

Lee also updated the audience on several recent initiatives in Singapore.  These include the drafting of new regulations for clearinghouses and new segregation requirements to strengthen the protection of margins and facilitate portability.  MAS also is in discussions with local and foreign clearinghouses and trade repositories that want to offer their services to Singapore market participants.  Lee said the goal is to allow participants to continue to clear and report their trades at infrastructures they are familiar with so as to minimize market disruption and support the ability to choose among several providers.

Click here for the full opening address

The FIA Asia India Conference on May 10 will be all about one of the most dynamic markets for listed derivatives in the world. Recent volume growth has been eye-popping. New contract volume has amazed. What products can be traded from inside and outside India? What are the rules and regulations (including GAAR issue and its impact on Mauritius FII) and what changes are in store? Existing and would-be participants need to keep up with products, technology, and rules of the game. Find out what's new, what's next, and how to make it all work in the next phase in the development of India's futures markets.

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Bill has 20 years experience in the listed derivatives industry, most recently as the regional head of operations-Asia Pacific for ICAP.  Earlier in his career, he served in front, middle and back office management positions at various trading firms and software vendors including Trading Technologies, SunGard Futures Systems and BNP Securities (USA) Inc.  Bill has extensive experience in the futures and options business and has been a key participant in the development of processes and systems for the electronic trading and clearing of exchange traded derivatives.  He and his family have resided in Singapore since 2007.  He received an M.B.A.  in Finance and Economics from University of Rochester.

"We are delighted to welcome Bill as the head of the organization," said Paul Davies, managing director at Goldman Sachs and chairman of FIA Asia.  "Nick has done a fantastic job in building the organization, and we have now reached the point where a permanent presence in Singapore is necessary to take the organization to the next level.  With the rapid growth of derivatives trading and clearing in this part of the world, coupled with the important changes to the regulatory environment, FIA Asia is more important than ever in representing our membership and providing direction and best practice."

FIA Asia was established in 2005 and currently has 45 members.  FIA Asia's mission is to be the regional thought leader, advocate and educator for centrally cleared derivatives.  FIA Asia is affiliated with the Futures Industry Association, a non-profit trade association based in Washington, D.C.  The FIA's membership includes the leading international futures commission merchants as well as derivatives exchanges and clearing organizations from around the world.

For more information about FIA Asia, visit our website at: http://www.fiaasia.org/default.asp

Click here for the comment letter

Join our growing list of speakers as they discuss the opportunities in Asia—the fastest-growing region in the world. Watch some of the leading players in regional markets debate the challenges in Asia of OTC clearing, the changing nature of the markets in a high-speed world, and the commodity markets next door to the biggest, fastest-growing consumers of commodities in history.

www.futuresindustry.org/asia

Nick Ronalds, executive director of FIA Asia, will participate in a panel discussion on these topics at an event organized by the Chinese Derivatives Association. The discussion will take place on July 12 in Chicago starting at 4:30 p.m. Michael Gorham, director of the IIT Stuart Center for Financial Markets, will moderate the discussion, and the other speakers will be Lian Hao, president of Chinese Derivatives Association, Steffen Gemuenden, chief executive officer of RTS Realtime Systems, and Ruirong Huo, executive vice president, Shanghai Stock Exchange.

To register for this event, go to: http://thecda.org/?fpage/l2/i134

“The evolution of futures markets has demonstrated time and again that increasing the diversity of market participants improves the depth and quality of markets,” said Nick Ronalds, Executive Director of FIA Asia. “By permitting QFIIs to access the CSI 300 stock index futures on the China Financial Futures Exchange, the CSRC is opening the door to greater participation by institutional investors in this market. This will tend to improve market efficiency and fair pricing.”

About FIA Asia: FIA Asia is the industry association for the Asia-Pacific region. Its mission is to be a regional thought leader and futures advocate and educator in futures and cleared swaps; to encourage adoption of best practices among exchanges and regulators throughout the region to increase efficiency and reduce costs; to protect the public interest through adherence to high standards of professional conduct and financial integrity; and to provide a forum for discussion on core issues with the goal of building consensus across industry stakeholders including brokers, end-users, exchanges, and regulators.

View the PDF Presentation Here
View Article on Risk Controls Survey Here
View Table of Responses to Risk Controls Survey Here

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“Our members are strongly of the view that continued reform and modernization of China’s financial sector is essential if China is to achieve its own economic goals of maintaining high rates of growth and job creation and building a more services-based, consumer-driven economy,” the coalition said in its letter. “Such reform and modernization should be based on the following core principles: (1) eliminating equity limits on ownership, permitting corporate form of choice, and removing limits on geographic expansion and restrictions on product offerings in the financial services sector, and; (2) ensuring that foreign financial sector participants and investors are treated on the same basis as domestic investors; and (3) improving regulatory and procedural transparency.”

Click Here for the Text of the Letter

  English translation here

Engage China, a coalition of nine U.S. financial services trade associations, in a Feb. 19 letter to President Barack Obama highlighted the importance of U.S. –China economist relations and urged continued work toward achieving U.S. –China Strategic Economic Dialogue. “The ongoing financial crisis and the global economic downturn have only further highlighted the degree to which the U.S. and Chinese economies are interconnected,” wrote the group. FIA is a member of the Engage China coalition and joins with the other groups in the belief  that while current global economic circumstances may complicate the U.S-China relationship, they offer a unique opportunity for the U.S. and China to build a more balanced, durable and mutually beneficial relationship.

 Please click here to download the Engage China Coalition Letter

Last month, METI asked FIA-Japan to issue a report with our recommendation of an "Action Plan" for dealing with this important issue. On February 9, 2009, we issued our report titled "Report on Commodity Clearinghouse: Urgent Action". This report was delivered to METI and MAFF and JCCH. Some of the key points of particular interest that we included in our report are as follows:

In the commodity industry, TOCOM is the only institution with an adequate capital base and structure to support the development of a clearing function meeting global requirements. Therefore, the clearinghouse should be established within and by Tocom.

A Working Party should be created to take action and to direct the development of the Clearinghouse.

Outside experts and/or a global clearinghouse should be invited to provide consultation to the Working Party.

The Japan financial / securities exchanges should be invited to work with and support this effort. The existing "silos" between commodities and financial markets should be crossed over and eventually "dissolved." Common clearing among all exchanges should be explored.

It is our plan to continue the activities of the FIA-J Clearinghouse Task Force and to hold further discussions with TOCOM and other leaders and interested parties to encourage the actions we have recommended. We believe this initiative is essential for the success of the commodities industry in Japan.

Please contact our Executive Secretary, Ms. Motoko Ogawa, if you would like an additional copy.

Regards,
Mitch Fulscher
Chairman, FIA-Japan

 Please click here to download the full report

For More Details

The group met with officials including Zhang Xin, director-general, financial stability bureau, People’s Bank of China; Tong Daochi, director-general, international affairs, China Securities Regulatory Commission; Jesse Wang, vice president and chief research officer, China Investment Corporation; James Liu, executive vice president, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Tu Guangshao, deputy mayor, Shanghai. The group also met with economic staff at the U.S. embassy as well as the economic attaches from the U.K., European Union, and Canada.

The group observed that China is closely monitoring the ongoing crisis in global capital markets and is deeply concerned about the impact of the crisis on the rate of China’s economic growth and job creation. Chinese officials were greatly surprised by the scale and seriousness of the financial crisis in the United States and expressed concern about the deficiencies in risk management and internal controls. The officials insisted that China remains committed to financial sector reform and modernization, including greater foreign participation, although they asserted the need to be “very careful” given the global financial turmoil. Officials stressed the importance of financial and economic stability, and the importance of sound regulation for ensuring that stability.

Futures came up several times in the context that they are increasingly being seen as “part of the solution.” That is, in the U.S. and Europe, the opacity of over-the-counter derivatives has been identified as a contributing factor to the credit crisis. In contrast, futures markets have been functioning well and indeed have played a crucial role at a time that other markets have been at near-standstill. Nevertheless, it appears that the fledgling China Financial Futures Exchange is facing stiffer headwinds because of the financial crisis. Chinese authorities are concerned about any factors that could increase volatility and uncertainty in markets and have not yet been convinced that stock index futures are likely to be a positive influence.

"India's young but vibrant commodity futures exchanges have earned the respect of the futures industry worldwide," Damgard said. "I encourage the Indian government to avoid an unnecessary tax burden and permit these markets to continue to flourish."

"In recent years, India's commodity futures markets have grown spectacularly, but they are still far too nascent to be burdened by a tax that would increase transaction costs by 800%," Damgard added. "We have seen from past experience in Japan, Taiwan and the U.S. that such proposals drive business offshore and ultimately result in lower tax revenues and a loss of international competitiveness."

The FIA is the leading trade organization for the international futures industry. It is based in Washington, D.C., and its membership includes the world's largest futures brokers as well as leading derivatives exchanges from more than 20 countries. For more information, please contact Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) at (202) 466-5460.

The FIA is the leading trade organization for the international futures industry. It is based in Washington, D.C., and its membership includes the world’s largest futures brokers as well as leading derivatives exchanges from more than 20 countries. For more information, please contact Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) at (202) 466-5460.

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FIA Asia Announcement
The FIA is pleased to announce that Nick Ronalds, who has had a broad range of experience in the futures industry including many years in Asia, has agreed to serve as the senior advisor to FIA Asia. In this capacity he will work with the members of the FIA Asia Formation Committee to achieve its objectives of creating an effective presence in the Asia-Pacific region. He will oversee FIA Asia's services to its members, including publications, educational services and other projects, and work toward timely opening of an Asian office.

Nick was until recently Director of Marketing at UBS Securities and prior to that spent 10 years as global marketing manager for ABN Amro's futures division. In addition to overseeing the development and delivery of marketing initiatives to a wide range of clients, he specialized in advising institutional users of exchange-traded derivatives on effective strategies for trading and risk management. Before ABN Amro, he was a managing director of the joint CME/CBOT Asia office, where he marketed futures and options throughout Asia for seven years.

Nick has also written numerous articles for the Wall Street Journal, Futures Industry, Futures Magazine, International Financing Review, and the Journal of International Financial Markets. He has also co-authored a chapter on Chinese commodity markets in the book Intelligent Commodity Investing, published this past spring by RiskBooks.

Nick also has taken an active role in promoting better public understanding of futures and options in other venues. He was president of the CFA Society of Chicago from 2004 to 2005, and has been an adjunct professor of finance at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a CFA charter holder and also holds a Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation.

Foo-Shiung Ho, who headed the organization since its formation in 2005, recently joined a brokerage firm in Taiwan as a senior executive. We wish him the best in his new endeavor.