Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), a premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, has boosted its presence in Asia with the opening of its first regional office in Singapore.

The Singapore office enhances the DME's ability to offer region-wide support and services to its rapidly growing base of members across Asia.
 
DME’s chief executive officer Christopher Fix, said: “Singapore is the largest oil trading hub in Asia and the third largest in the world, making it an important strategic location for the DME. It's also home to more than 800 professional oil traders, trading volumes of $375 billion in oil contracts annually.”

The Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract (DME Oman), the exchange's flagship contract, is now the most credible oil benchmark relevant to the Asian market.
 
“Asia is key to the DME's growth. The DME is situated on top of the world's largest oil reserves and faces the region with the world's fastest growing consumer demand for oil. The launch of our new office in Singapore is a reflection of how important this region is to the DME," remarked Fix.

The announcement also comes as India-based Reliance Industries Limited recently became the DME's newest Asia member, emphasising the trend of continued growth in Asian oil production.

"We are targeting more trading activity from companies in China and India. About 40 per cent of the DME's crude goes to China - they're the largest single national destination and in that there's definitely great room for expansion," he added.-TradeArabia News Service