Many industry leaders, including Tiger Shi, CEO of Bands Financial, and Clara Chan, CEO of Hong Kong-listed Lee Kee Group, believe the development marks a pivotal step in strengthening the city’s position as a strategic commodities hub in Asia.
The establishment of the LME warehouses in the city will also help align commodity prices in mainland China with the international market, they said.
The warehouses mark “a major step forward in integrating the international and Chinese base metals markets”, Shi said in an interview. They also align with efforts to bolster Hong Kong’s role in commodities trading, after Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said in October that the city would develop an international gold trading market.
The LME does not own or operate such warehouses; it authorises companies to store LME-registered metals on behalf of warrant holders.
