Singapore Mercantile Exchange will start trading in the second half of August to tap growing demand for commodities in Asia, Vice Chairman Jignesh Shah said.

The exchange will offer futures in gold and crude oil, and some currency pairs, Shah said today in a Bloomberg Television interview, confirming a previously announced timetable.

 

The city-state, Asia’s biggest oil-trading center, is competing with rivals including Hong Kong and Shanghai to bolster its position as a financial and commodity-trading hub. Financial Technologies (India), the founder of the new Singapore bourse, will also open exchanges in Bahrain and Mauritius this year, Shah said.