BEIJING, Jan. 27-- CMC Group, a UK-based Internet foreign exchange trading service provider, opened its Beijing representative office yesterday.

The firm is the first foreign non-banking forex trading company to set up an office in China. The China Banking Regulatory Commission gave the go-ahead about a month ago.

Peter Cruddas, managing director of CMC, said the launch of the representative office demonstrates the group's long-term commitment to the Chinese market. It aims to eventually open a subsidiary in China to do business locally when regulators allow.

"China is an important country for forex trade," Cruddas said at a press briefing yesterday in Beijing.

The participation of foreign dealers will push forex trade services in China to become cheaper and more competitive, he said.

Given the nation's huge forex reserves- in excess of US$600 billion- there has been growing demand locally for professional and advanced forex trade services.

However, due to regulatory restrictions, the services CMC can provide are limited to offshore business, which means only retail traders that have offshore forex assets can enjoy the services. But that is a start, Cruddas said.

Local customers can apply to CMC's subsidiary in Sydney via telephone to open accounts and trade by telephone or the firm's online trading platform"Marketmaker."

The platform enables customers to trade in over 60 foreign currencies. They can also attend seminars run by CMC in Beijing and a number of other major Chinese cities. The seminars will cater to potential customers with different levels of knowledge and expertise in forex trade, CMC sources said.

Cruddas said the company hopes to provide onshore forex trade services in China when regulators relax the relevant rules. This is likely to happen in the coming five years, he said.

Regulation changes and a further opening-up of financial markets are necessary as China becomes increasingly influential in global commodity and forex markets, said Kenneth Roland Jones, a financial expert and advisor to CMC.

Presently, CMC Group transacts over US$1 billion per day, with clients from over 100 countries, company sources said.

(Source: China Daily)