Long road ahead for China's futures market

Editor's note: China International Futures Co Ltd (CIFCO), the country's largest futures company established in 1992, was the only futures company on display at the second China (Beijing) International Fair for Trade in Services, or the Beijing Fair, which began on May 28 and ended June 1. Zhang Minghua, managing director of CIFCO, talked to China Daily reporter He Yini about the development of his company and the industry at large.

China Daily: What are your expectations as CIFCO is the only company in the field that exhibited at the Beijing Fair?

Zhang Minghua: By showcasing at the Beijing Fair, our company was able to offer a summary to help enterprises and investors better understand the futures market in China. The industry has made remarkable achievements in the past two decades, outpacing any other country around the world. In the meantime, it has played a significant role in national economic development. However, it is still very much developing around the industry, as it still lags behind Western countries in terms of pricing, risk management and so on. That's why we have to adopt the "go global, bring in" strategy, become more involved with the international market, and bring forth more new products. So we hope our presence at the fair will duly promote the development of China's futures market.

China Daily: Talents, as you said earlier, are one of the core competitive advantages in the field of asset management. How does the company build up its talent pool?

Zhang: We seek to fill our talent pool in asset management through diversified channels. For example, we are able to find excellent investors during futures trading competitions held by our company or companies almost annually in the field. Meanwhile, we have many staff members who have grown a lot during the past two decades. They are smart, creative and quite experienced in this field. In addition to cultivating these talents, we also brought in quite a few elite professionals from Western countries over the years. All these people are very professional in this field and thus crucial to the development of our company.

China Daily: The company has won many awards over the years. Which one are you most proud of?

Zhang: Those awards are actually attributed to the acknowledgement and support from local governments and supervision departments in this field. We really appreciate it. Well, if there is one that I should be most proud of, I would say we are lucky to top the list of AA-level companies in the classified supervision evaluation. This is a huge compliment and encouraging for our company, as well as our employees and customers. We will keep up the good work and continue to serve our shareholders, employees and customers.

Zhang Minghua (L), managing director of CIFCO, talked to China Daily reporter He Yini  about the development of his company and the industry at large.