Bursa Malaysia Derivatives named ‘Exchange of the Year’

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Derivatives Bhd was named ‘Exchange of the Year – Commodities’ and ‘Exchange of the Year – Sustainability’ from the London-based Futures and Options World (FOW) Global Investor Group at The Asia Capital Markets Awards 2022.

Bursa Malaysia Derivatives chairman and Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said the exchange remained steadfast in facilitating better price discovery and providing additional access to trading for both local and foreign investors despite greater market volatility experienced in 2021.

“These awards are testament to the exchange’s commitment to continuously developing new products and services to meet the hedging and trading needs of traders and industry players, particularly in today’s challenging market outlook,” he said in a statement.

According to the exchange, Bursa Malaysia Derivatives’ Crude Palm Oil Futures (FCPO) contract ended 2021 on a high note with a record full-year trading volume of 15.6 million contracts or 390 million metric tonnes of crude palm oil.

This is more than five times the amount of CPO produced globally.

“To provide greater price transparency to the crude palm oil market participants in Sabah and Sarawak, the exchange launched the East Malaysia Crude Palm Oil Futures (FEPO) last year.

“Within eleven months from the FEPO launch, a total of 6,130 contracts traded was achieved with the highest daily open interest of 208 lots on June 17, 2022,” it said.

Last year, Bursa Malaysia Derivatives began implementing the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification into the physical delivery process of its FCPO and FEPO contracts.

Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia Derivatives acting director Mohd Saleem Kader Bakas said the exchange played a critical role in influencing a shift to more sustainable practices in physical markets to enhance product offerings.

“One significant effort was the signing of a strategic partnership memorandum of understanding with the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council to promote sustainability and responsible practices among players in the palm oil supply chain.

“We will continue to strengthen our efforts in the strategic improvement and product innovation to increase the strong appeal of the Malaysian derivatives market to investors,” he added.