ICE delays Singapore launch following China legal threat: FT

Singapore

INTERCONTINENTAL Exchange Inc has pushed back the launch of its Singapore platform to the middle of the year from this month, with the Financial Times (FT) reporting that the delay was due to a Chinese bourse threatening legal action.

The Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) sent ICE a "cease and desist" letter in December, demanding that the US group halt its plans to launch cotton and sugar futures similar to those already traded on the ZCE, FT said on Tuesday. China's regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, also contacted the Monetary Authority of Singapore to ask the city-state's financial watchdog to ensure that such contracts were not launched, according to the newspaper. ZCE threatened legal action if ICE did not drop its plan, FT said, citing people familiar with the situation.