Former President of China Securities Regulator Commission (CSRC) Zhou Daojiong suggested on Sunday that the country should launch stock index futures as soon as possible.

Zhou told Xinhua that the nation's economic fundamental remained unchanged and domestic companies still expected sound development prospects despite a changing world economic environment.

His view was broadly agreed by most market analysts, who held the opinion that time is mature to kick off this kind of futures market.

Market analysts said the introduction of stock index futures would help to boost the smooth development of the country's stock market by enabling investors to profit from their anticipation of a share price fall.

Jiang Yang, CSRC Chairman's assistant said earlier that the country was mulling regulations on contract design, investors' training and risk control for the upcoming stock index futures.

China launched its new regulation on futures trading last April, extending its coverage from commodities futures trading to financial futures and option contract trading. This laid a legal foundation aimed to provide financial institutions with badly-needed tools to hedge risks.

(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2008)