Executive Chairman of MDEX, Encik Abdul Jabbar Abdul Majid urged all participants of the palm oil industry to fully utilise the MDEX Crude Palm Oil Futures Contracts (FCPO).
"The FCPO is the leading benchmark for the pricing of crude palm oil internationally and has continued to be an important mechanism to meet pricing and hedging requirements for the industry.
"With the continued participation in the FCPO, there is no doubt that the collective benefit it brings to the industry will continue to grow," he said.
Abdul Jabbar was speaking at the opening of the MDEX Annual Palm & Lauric Oils Conference & Exhibition : Price Outlook 2003/2004 in Kuala Lumpur this morning.
The international conference, officiated by Minister of Primary Industries YB. Dato' Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik, brought together over 1,000 leading representatives in the palm and lauric oils industry from 31 countries.
This year, the FCPO recorded the highest single-day record in 23 years of derivatives trading in Malaysia with 14,003 lots traded on 5 March 2003. Abdul Jabbar added that with the success of the FCPO, MDEX is examining the possibility of launching new instruments based on palm oil.
"This will certainly broaden the interest in palm oil internationally and the palm oil industry in Malaysia.
"MDEX will certainly study very carefully the feasibility of launching options on Crude Palm Oil Futures and Palm Kernel Oil Futures to benefit participants in the industry even further," he said.
Abdul Jabbar said that since MDEX made the transition from open-outcry to electronic trading in 2001, the daily average volume for FCPO has increased.
"Volume of the CPO Futures has been increasing at a commendable rate. From a daily average of 1,874 lots per day in 2001 to 3,740 lots per day in 2002, the daily average volume for 2003, to date is 4,929 lots per day," he said.
In addition to the FCPO, MDEX offers the KLSE Composite Index Futures (FKLI), Three-month Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rate (KLIBOR) Interest Rate Futures (FKB3) and Five-year Malaysian Government Securities Futures (FMG5). Further information is available from the MDEX website at www.mdex.com.my.
The international MDEX Annual Palm & Lauric Oils Conference & Exhibition : Price Outlook 2003/2004 is held from 17 to 19 March 2003 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. The conference also features an exhibition of products and services by over 30 industry participants worldwide.
