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The Engage China Coalition today announced the addition of its ninth member, the Futures Industry Association (FIA). Engage China is a coalition of leading financial services trade associations united in support of a strategy of engagement with China and the goals of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue.
“As the leading trade group representing the futures industry, FIA brings perspective and expertise from this vital segment of global financial markets,” said Rob Nichols, chairman of the Engage China Coalition and president and COO of the Financial Services Forum. “FIA will play an important role in our efforts to encourage greater access to the Chinese market for foreign financial services firms. The further liberalization and modernization of China's financial system is in the interest of both our countries and will yield significant benefits for both the Chinese people and for the American economy.”
“We are delighted to join the Engage China coalition and look forward to participating in the coalition's campaign to further integrate China's financial system into the world economy,” said John Damgard, President of the Futures Industry Association. “China's commodity futures exchanges in Dalian, Shanghai and Zhengzhou rank among the world's most active futures markets. The FIA's member firms view China as a tremendously important potential market and they are actively working to apply their expertise in trading technology and risk management to the needs of Chinese customers. By the same token, our member firms are ready and willing to facilitate access for Chinese institutions to futures markets in London, Chicago, New York and elsewhere. In our view, more open access is a win-win for both sides.”
The Futures Industry Association is the international trade organization for the futures industry. Its membership includes more than 35 of the largest futures brokers in the world as well as representatives from virtually all other segments of the futures industry, both national and international. Reflecting the scope and diversity of its membership, the FIA estimates that its members serve as brokers for more than ninety percent of all customer transactions executed on U.S. contract markets. The FIA has a long-standing interest in the development of futures markets overseas and recently formed an affiliate in Hong Kong, FIA Asia, to serve as a forum for market participants in that region to share information and address issues of common interest.
The Engage China coalition is made up of the American Bankers Association, the American Council of Life Insurers, the American Insurance Association, the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, the Bankers’ Association for Finance & Trade, the Financial Services Forum, the Financial Services Roundtable, the Futures Industry Association, the Investment Company Institute, and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
