China is expected to start trading crude oil futures in Shanghai's pilot free trade zone within this year, Zheng Yang, director of the Shanghai Financial Services Office, said yesterday.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange launched the International Energy Trade Center in the FTZ in November as the platform for the long-awaited crude oil futures trading.

Presently, overseas investors are allowed to invest in China's capital market through a quota system called Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor, but not allowed to trade commodities futures. The crude oil futures market is expected to draw participation from foreign investors as China seeks to boost its position and influence in the global oil pricing system. Government authorities, led by the securities regulator, are actively promoting the launch of trading, Zheng said.

He said the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange also plan to establish international trading platforms in the FTZ. Additionally, the China Financial Futures Exchange, the Shanghai Clearing House and the Shanghai Equity Exchange are actively pursuing plans to establish international service platforms. The FTZ has attracted many kinds of financial companies.

By February-end, there were 43 licensed financial institutions in the zone, including domestic and foreign banks, securities and futures brokerages, and insurance units. There were also 102 equity investment and financial leasing companies, and around 1,000 investment and asset-management companies.