1、 What is the London Metal Exchange (LME)
The London Metal Exchange is the world's largest market in options and futures contracts on base and other metals. Founded in 1877, LME has operated for nearly a century and a half. The exchange conducts over US$12 trillion in trading business annually. LME members include major global mining companies, metal refiners, business investment banks, metals traders, and manufacturing companies.
LME created the London Metal Exchange Index (LMEX) in 2000 London Metal Exchange Index (LMEX) as a real-time, global index of commodity pricing for LME's six primary nonferrous metals, including copper, aluminum, lead, nickel, zinc, and tin. The index allows investors to buy and trade option contracts for these commodities without incurring related delivery, warehousing, and exchange fees. LME is one of the world’s largest metals trading exchanges and regularly handles over 80% of global futures trading business in its nonferrous metals.
On June 15th, 2012, Hong Kong Exchanges announced to sign a framework agreement with HKEx Investment (UK), Limited, and LME Holdings Limited (LMEH). Furthermore, on following December 6th, Hong Kong Exchanges successfully acquired London Metal Exchanges (LME) for £1.388 billion. Today, as a subsidiary of the HKEx, LME links metal commodities to industrial buyers in a dynamic, interactive market. LME creates value through traditional market mechanisms and a 24-hour trading day.
2、 LME Delivery Points
The LME network girds the globe. The Port of Kaohsiung received LME delivery port approval on June 17th, 2013. It may bring down the warehousing and transportation costs of base metal products in Southeast Asia and China, and improve the efficiency of logistic supply chains. At present, large international LME certified warehousing companies has entered in port of Kaohsiung and cooperated with their partners in port of Kaohsiung FTZ, renting or self-constructing warehouses for LME storage operation. In the area behind Terminal 4 of Port of Kaohsiung, Intercontinental Container Terminal A5, Chungtao Commercial Harbor Area, Nan Hsing Project District, and Cianjhen Commercial Harbor Area, any companies with LME storage approval can deal in seven LME-certified non-ferrous metals (aluminum, aluminum alloy, copper, lead, nickel, tin and zinc).
3、 Investment Advantages、Benefit
(1) The Port of Kaohsiung is Taiwan’s largest international commercial port. The port is strategically located astride main intercontinental shipping lanes and connected via 120 shipping routes directly to 50 countries on 5 continents. Free trade port operations and direct shipping links to all of China’s main commercial ports make the Port of Kaohsiung exceptionally competitive as a logistics and warehouse hub.
(2) Although China is one of the world’s largest consumers of nonferrous metals, it currently has no LME delivery points (ports) to receive and store LME commodities. The approval of the Port of Kaohsiung as an LME delivery point greatly streamlines the shipment of nonferrous metals to China by reducing the time, delay, and costs incurred in processing deliveries to Chinese buyers. Furthermore, as an international warehousing and transshipment hub, the Port of Kaohsiung is attracting new international logistics investment to Taiwan.
4、 LME-approved warehouses that are interested to establish operations at the Port of Kaohsiung may apply via any one of the following methods:
(1) Register a subsidiary in Taiwan
(2) Register a branch office in Taiwan
(3) Partner with a current Port of Kaohsiung warehouse operator
Discover more about LME online