10/12/2006, Singapore ( rawstory.com)- The Singapore-based commodities exchange Jade plans to launch its crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract by the first quarter of 2007 after the festival season, officials said in a report published Monday.

With Jade 50-per-cent owned by the Singapore Exchange, the futures had been initially scheduled to begin trading before the end of this year.

"Jade has recently completed a public consultation on the CPO contract," managing director Chong Kim Seng told The Business Times.

"We have also worked closely with regional market participants and various stakeholders in preparation for the trading," he added.

Jade was set up by the Singapore Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade in December last year. Its first contract, rubber, was launched in September to try to capture the potential market among Asian hedgers seeking protection against their trades in the cash markets.

The palm oil contract was expected to compete with the Malaysian palm oil futures contract, the world's benchmark for pricing palm oil.