Latest news with #MatthewChamberlain
South China Morning Post
21-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong plans legislation to offer 50% tax concession for some commodity trading
Hong Kong will table a bill by the end of the year to offer a 50 per cent tax concession for certain commodity trading activities, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday. The legislation was part of a broader policy initiative to develop a commodity trading ecosystem in the city, Chan said at the LME Asia Metals Seminar. In February, he said the bill would be brought to the Legislative Council in the first half of 2026. Chan's remarks came a day after the London Metal Exchange (LME) added three more Hong Kong warehouses to its global network, following an initial approval of four in April. This, he said at the seminar, was 'bringing storage facilities closer than ever to the industrial heartlands and consumption centres on the Chinese mainland'. 'The progress is impressive,' Chan added. China is the world's largest metals consumer, but Beijing does not allow non-mainland exchanges to operate delivery warehouses within the country. In January, the LME said it would add Hong Kong to its global warehouse network in an effort to meet rising demand for the physical exchange of metals between mainland China and the rest of the world. 'We've really focused on being as close as possible to the mainland and Hong Kong is the ultimate expression of that,' said Matthew Chamberlain, the LME's CEO. Chamberlain said 85 per cent of the LME's stock of metals is held in Asia, which 'reflects the evolution of the underlying industry, and it's also no surprise that a lot of that is about servicing the mainland China market'.
Bloomberg
21-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
London Metal Exchange CEO on Setting Up Hong Kong Warehouses
London Metal Exchange CEO Matthew Chamberlain discusses the company's plans to set up warehouses in Hong Kong. According to Chamberlain, the city is a "higher cost jurisdiction" but clients want facilities "close to the metal centers of mainland China" and will pay for "that logistical convenience." He speaks on Bloomberg Television. (Source: Bloomberg)
South China Morning Post
15-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong warehouses get LME approval as exchange eyes China metal trade
The London Metal Exchange (LME) has approved four warehouse facilities in Hong Kong, extending its global network to the doorstep of mainland China, the world's largest consumer of metals. Advertisement The new facilities would be able to begin storing seven of the 14 LME-approved metals within three months, the exchange said in a statement on Tuesday. 'Hong Kong is now well-positioned to further develop as a key global metals hub servicing the region and as a gateway for access to the mainland China market, reinforcing Hong Kong's vital role as an international financial, trade and logistics centre,' said LME CEO Matthew Chamberlain. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu said the decision would further promote the development of Hong Kong's commodity market and strengthen its role as an international financial, shipping, and trading centre. LME-approved warehouses in Hong Kong would offer efficient delivery channels for metals trading, attracting related businesses and boosting the city's role in global commodities and logistics, he added. Advertisement The announcement followed LME's January decision to add Hong Kong to its global warehouse network, aiming to meet growing demand for the physical exchange of metals between mainland China and the rest of the world. The LME has more than 450 authorised warehouses across 33 locations worldwide. The exchange has been eyeing China as a warehouse location since 2012, when it was acquired by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) for US$2.2 billion.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FCA fines London Metal Exchange £9.2m over 2022 nickel volatility
The Financial Conduct Authority handed a landmark £9.2m fine to the London Metal Exchange after it failed to prevent extreme volatility in the nickel market in March 2022. In its first ever enforcement action against an investment exchange, the FCA criticised the exchange's systems and controls that did not ensure 'orderly trading under conditions of severe market stress'. The London Metal Exchange decided to scrap billions in nickel trades in March 2022, after fears around the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent metal prices rocketing. Prices more than doubled during the morning of 8 March 2022 to over $100,000 (£77,000), with most of the rise occurring in just an hour. 'These events undermined the orderliness of and confidence in the London Metal Exchange's market,' said the watchdog, adding that the exchange's processes for escalating unusual or hazardous market conditions to managers 'were inadequate'. During the exchange's Asian trading hours, from 1am to 7am in the UK, only 'relatively junior trading operations staff' were on duty, the FCA said, who had not been trained to recognise all potential causes of a disorderly market. 'This meant that when price rises in the nickel contract became increasingly extreme during the early hours of 8 March, it was not escalated to senior LME managers,' it added. Instead, trading operations staff at the exchange actually worked to accommodate the price rises, including through disabling the price bands during the most extreme period of volatility. Following the market's morning session, the exchange suspended nickel trading for eight days and later published a notice cancelling all nickel trades entered into on that day before the suspension. In total, the London Metal Exchange will pay a £9.2m fine to the FCA, after agreeing to resolve the case at an early stage and receiving a 30 per cent discount on the penalty imposed. The FCA announced the investigation into the London Metal Exchange in March 2023, meaning the investigation was delivered 'significantly quicker than the average length for investigations,' the watchdog said. 'London's metal markets are of vital importance to the UK and global economy. We expect controls that match their significance,' said Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA. 'The LME should have been better prepared to address the serious risks posed by extreme volatility.' Commenting on the fine, the London Metal Exchange said: '[The LME] acknowledges the findings in respect of its systems and controls. It accepts that, in March 2022, once the effects of large over-the-counter (OTC) positions had spilled over onto the LME's nickel market, the LME price rose more quickly than would have been the case if certain LME systems and controls had acted as a better line of defence to the effects on the LME's market of the OTC disorder.' Matthew Chamberlain, LME chief executive, commented: 'We take our responsibilities as a global market operator very seriously, and acknowledge that we could have provided a better line of defence to the effects of the disorder in the OTC market, which had spilled over onto the LME market in March 2022. The LME swiftly implemented market enhancements and we are pleased to be able to move forward, stronger as a result. In parallel we fully recognise the important work the FCA continues to undertake in strengthening oversight of the OTC market.' Last year, a judge dismissed legal proceedings from activist investor Elliott Investment Management against the London Metal Exchange, after the group argued that the nickel trade cancellations caused lost profits totalling about $456m. Trading firm Jane Street also brought a $15m damages case, which was also thrown out. Sign in to access your portfolio
