China mutual funds planning products linked to commodity futures

Shanghai

CHINA'S mutual fund industry is pushing to develop investment products linked to local commodity futures, betting that plans to fight chronic oversupply in the country's mammoth resource sector will drive up prices for raw materials.

The funds want to branch out beyond their traditional focus on stocks and fixed income, with no immediate upturn in sight in the wake of the turmoil last year that pulled down share markets by nearly 50 per cent and forced bond yields to multi-year lows.