China's top securities regulator said on Friday it has approved trade of polypropylene (PP) futures contracts at the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE).The exact date of the launch of the futures will be decided by the DCE, said Zhang Xiaojun, spokesman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission. China is the largest PP consumer in the world with an average annual growth rate of more than 10 percent. In 2012, PP consumption was close to 15 million tons, with applications in packaging, household appliances, textiles, automobiles and construction. Domestic PP users have been pushing for PP futures to reduce market volatility and strengthen China's pricing power on the international market. Currently, two plastic products LLDPE and PVC are traded on the DCE.

China overtakes EU as top export market for Singapore

China overtook the European Union as the top export market for Singapore in 2013, according to statistics released on Friday by trade agency International Enterprise Singapore. Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX), a key gauge of the city state's export performance, to China grew by 10.6 percent year on year to S$23.5 billion ($18.5 billion) in 2013. In contrast, its NODX to the EU fell by 25.5 percent to S$19.3 billion ($15.2 billion), while its NODX to the United States fell 6.6 percent to S$15.5 billion ($12.2 billion). The United States remained Singapore's third largest export market. For the year 2013 as a whole, Singapore's NODX fell by close to 6 percent to S$167.7 billion ($132 billion).

Singapore's total trade, including petrochemical products, fall by 4.8 percent to S$980.2 billion ($771.8 billion) in 2013, with China overtaking Malaysia as its top trading partner. The non-oil domestic exports in December rose by 6 percent year on year. The rise, which was better than market estimates, came after a surprise contraction of 8.9 percent in November. The growth was attributed to an increase in non-electronic exports, which grew by 10.6 percent, in contrast to the decrease of 8.9 percent in the previous month. Electronic exports, however, contracted by 3.1 percent in December, after the 8.9 percent decline in the preceding month.