CME expands in Asia, to open five warehouses for lead storage

[LONDON] CME Group, the world's largest futures market operator, will open five warehouses in Asia to store physical lead that backs its futures contract, it said, continuing a bid to compete with the London Metal Exchange (LME).

CME said on Tuesday the depots will store the metal, used to make batteries, in Busan, South Korea, Johor, Malaysia, two warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia and one in Singapore. The warehouses will open pending regulatory approval.

The CME has a network of 32 approved warehouses that store base metals in the United States and Europe.

The LME has a network of more than 600 approved warehouses in 37 locations across the world, including in Asia. It is owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.

Earlier this year, industry sources said CME Group was talking to several warehouse companies to expand its metal storage network globally.

REUTERS