DALIAN -- The year of 2006 turned out to be a big year for the development of futures business in China, according to statistics provided by the China Futures Association (CFA).

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According to the sources, 449.48 million futures deals were done nationwide in the year ending Friday, with the volume of business exceeding 21 trillion yuan (about 2.63 trillion US dollars), up 39 percent and 56 percent on a year ago.

Fifty-three percent of the futures deals, or 240 million transactions, were carried out at Dalian maize and soybean Futures Exchange, up 21.35 percent on a year ago. Maize and soybean futures deals were worth 5.22 trillion yuan, up 9.99 percent on a year ago.

The other three main futures markets are the Shanghai non-ferrous metals and rubber futures, Zhengzhou wheat and cotton futures in central China's Henan Province, and China's financial futures derivatives exchange.

China financial futures derivatives exchange, created on September 8 this year in Shanghai, will start doing business early next year.