CNEEEX explains qualifications for institutional investors

Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange (CNEEEX) held a conference on Tuesday to introduce the new regulation for qualified institutional investors and discussed related questions with the attendants.

CNEEEX divided institutional investors into proprietary members and comprehensive members. Proprietary members should pay a registration fee of yuan (CNY) 30,000 and an annual fee of CNY5,000, while the comprehensive members should pay a registration fee of CNY500,000 and an annual fee of CNY30,000.

Besides the normal trading activities allowed for both types of members, comprehensive members are permitted to act as agents for secondary members regarding registration and transaction.

CNEEEX also said that it is currently studying how to grant carbon asset management licences, which might be available for the registered institutional investors after a special selection process.

Otherwise, CNEEEX might release a new “carbon credit borrowing” system, which allows traders and brokers to borrow allowances from compliance entities for operation purpose and return them in time, with the whole process under a strict supervision of CNEEEX.

These new measures are expected to increase the liquidity in Shanghai carbon market in the future.

At the conference, officials from CNEEEX also introduced the current situation of the Shanghai carbon market and the trading activities in 2013 compliance period. Kun Yang