BEIJING, Jan 8 (Reuters) - China has given approval in principal for the launch of stock market index futures as well as for the short selling and margin trading of stocks, state media cited the securities regulator as saying on Friday.
All of these are long-awaited steps that will offer investors badly needed hedging tools.
The reforms, which were approved by the cabinet in 2008 but delayed by the global financial crisis, would initially be conducted on a trial basis, China News Service reported. (Reporting by Zhou Xin, Aileen Wang and Simon Rabinovitch; Editing by Chris Lewis)