July 26, 2007	Thursday	Rajab 10, 1428

BEIJING, July 25: China opened its second petroleum exchange Wednesday in the northeastern port city of Dalian, less than a year after the launch of a similar bourse in Shanghai, state media said.

The exchange, with registered capital of 10 million yuan ($1.3m) and over 150 member traders, will trade fuel oil, bitumen and several other petroleum and chemical products at spot prices, Xinhua news reported.

The purpose of the trading platform is to build a “trading, pricing and information centre,” Zhou Peiliang, general manager of the exchange was quoted as saying in the dispatch.

Its basis is the petroleum and chemical products market in the Dalian Bonded Area, which has an annual trade volume of 10bn yuan. Dalian is one of China's major refined oil production bases and a major transfer port for crude oil. Last year, it processed 19.68m tons of crude oil and transferred 21.85m tons.—AFP