Singapore

CALL it the iron ore wars. Two of Asia's financial heavyweights are going head-to-head as Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd starts futures for a commodity that's seen extraordinary volatility and been a popular way to bet on China, challenging Singapore Exchange Ltd's leading position.

HKEX began trading the futures on Monday, pitting the new dollar-denominated contract against those offered by SGX, which introduced its first swap contracts in 2009 and has become the world's largest clearer of the derivatives. To add firepower to the opening salvo, HKEX has promised newcomers that all trading fees for the new product will be waived for six months.