Contracts, rules of T-bond futures trading under study

BEIJING - China's securities regulator said Monday that it is studying the contracts, rules and risk control measures of treasury bond (T-bond) futures that are expected to be resumed soon.

The government will implement strict regulations to control investment risks of T-bond futures trading, said an official with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

While gathering advice from investors, simulation trading will be used to test and improve related rules and systems, said the official.

The time is right for the country to restart T-bond futures trading, as the scale of T-bonds is growing steadily and laws and regulations on futures are more mature, he said.

By the end of 2011, the value of T-bonds in circulation reached 6.4 trillion yuan ($1.02 trillion), 64 times that in 1995, when China suspended T-bond futures trading over a scandal of illegal and excessive speculation of a three-year-term T-bond.

The CSRC and departments involved will make good preparations for the reopening of the trade, the official said, but declined to give a timetable.