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London Metal Exchange

Set up in 1877 to provide a venue for trade conducted among metal merchants in London, the LME was sold in 2012 to the operator of the Hong Kong stock exchange. In 2013, it was a defendant in lawsuits accusing Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Glencore-Xstrata of rigging the aluminium market.

Chairman / President

John Williamson

CEO / Managing Director

Matthew Chamberlain

CFO / Finance Director

Tabitha Silverwood

Industry

Financial Services

Website

lme.com

Headquarters address

10 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AJ, United Kingdom

Year founded

1877

Gold prices have been hitting new highs as the US-led trade war has spurred demand for haven assets. Photo: Shutterstock

Commodities

Shanghai Gold Exchange eyes Hong Kong vault to promote yuan-denominated products

The new vault will be part of the exchange’s network that international clients use to manage bullion trading and storage.

6 May 2025 - 5:06PM

LME

Why the London Metal Exchange’s Hong Kong warehouses are a big deal

28 Apr 2025 - 8:30AM

HKEX

LME approves Hong Kong warehouses amid growing China metals trade

15 Apr 2025 - 7:36PM

Banking & finance

Hong Kong should seize role in clean-energy commodities, think tank says

Commodities market would ‘create a new growth point for Hong Kong’s economy’, report from Better Hong Kong Foundation says.

15 Jan 2025 - 4:47PM

An aerial photo taken on September 2, 2024 shows the fourth phase of the Chinese-built Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Photo: Xinhua

Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong bridges China, Asean, Middle East as ties grow: HKEX official

Office in Riyadh and plans for metal warehouse underscore HKEX’s role, Vanessa Lau says at Asian Financial Forum.

14 Jan 2025 - 4:54PM

Banking & finance

Exclusive | Hong Kong’s potential as commodities hub draws expansion by Marex Group

The establishment of London Metal Exchange warehouses in Hong Kong will be a key enabler, Marex CEO says.

16 Dec 2024 - 7:30AM

Hong Kong economy

Editorial | Speed of essence in Hong Kong push to be gold, commodities hub

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has set out several measures aimed at consolidating Hong Kong’s position as an international financial centre.

18 Oct 2024 - 8:15AM

Opinion | LME should strike while the iron is hot

Hong Kong is ideally placed to join global storage network to facilitate the physical exchange of metals traded on the London bourse.

8 Jul 2024 - 6:51AM

LME

LME eyes Hong Kong for warehouse to tap China’s growing metals trade with world

The bourse owned by HKEX is exploring the idea of adding a warehouse in Hong Kong to its global network to meet rising demand for the physical exchange of metals such as aluminium and zinc between mainland China and the rest of the world, according to its CEO.

27 Jun 2024 - 5:11PM

Commodities

New metals sanctions push Russia further into China’s embrace

Energy market sanctions imposed on Moscow have already had a dramatic impact on China’s buying habits, helping Russia surpass Saudi Arabia to become the largest oil supplier to Beijing last year.

15 Apr 2024 - 1:27PM

A view of the nickel electrolysis workshop at Kola Mining and Metallurgical Company (Kola MMC), a unit of Russia’s metals and mining company Nornickel, in the town of Monchegorsk in Russia’s Murmansk region on February 25, 2021. Photo: AFP

Commodities

China slump turns Fortescue from world-beating mining stock to big loser

Earnings at the world’s fourth-largest iron ore miner is forecast to fall by 14 per cent over the next year, the worst pullback compared with peers BHP, Rio Tinto and Vale, according to analyst estimates.

4 Mar 2024 - 11:00AM

A worker walks past a pile of iron ore from Australia at a port in Tianjin municipality. Photo: Reuters

LME

HKEX-owned LME targets Hong Kong as option for warehouse expansion: sources

The LME is studying Hong Kong as a location to expand its global metal warehouse network, five sources said, hopeful success in the city might open the door to mainland China, its ultimate target.

30 Jan 2024 - 12:17PMvideocam

LME

LME plans new metals contracts using Shanghai Futures Exchange prices: sources

The London Metal Exchange is planning to launch new metals contracts using prices from the Shanghai Futures Exchange, three sources said, further increasing China’s influence on global metals markets.

19 Dec 2023 - 10:02AM

LME

HKEX, LME relish ‘incredible opportunities’ after winning nickel lawsuit

The London Metal Exchange and its parent, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), are ready to move forward and reboot investor confidence after winning a legal battle against American financial firms over cancelled nickel trades last year.

30 Nov 2023 - 3:35PMvideocam

Hong Kong-based brokers believe the ruling will allow HKEX to develop its commodities trading business. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Central banks

China demand hopes drive copper prices to 2-month peak

Hopes for stronger copper consumption were raised by a pledge from China’s central bank to ensure financing support for the property sector, a major consumer of industrial metals.

21 Nov 2023 - 10:16AM

An employee manufactures copper wires at the workshop of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings in Tongling, Anhui Province, China on November 13. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

HKEX

With 31-degree weather and a Hong Kong taxi, HKEX opens new office in London

London is the latest international office opened by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) as it seeks to expand its global footprint.

7 Sep 2023 - 9:48AMvideocam

Banking & finance

In nickel traders vs LME, lawyers spar over US$12 billion in cancelled trades

Judicial review of London Metal Exchange’s decision to cancel trades in March 2022 has potential to dramatically reshape how bourses respond to extraordinary market events in the future.

18 Jul 2023 - 3:30PM

Banking & finance

LME faced ‘death spiral’ had it failed to act during nickel chaos: lawyer

The London Metal Exchange was forced to step in to stabilise the nickel market in March 2022 as chaos in the market put several members at risk of default and would have depleted the bourse’s fund to close out defaulted members’ positions, the bourse’s lawyer said.

23 Jun 2023 - 6:00AM

Traders, brokers and clerks on the trading floor of the open outcry pit at the London Metal Exchange in February 2022. Photo: Bloomberg

Banking & finance

LME lacked senior staff monitoring trading as nickel prices spiked: Jane Street

HKEX-owned bourse made ‘irrational’ decision to cancel trades amid nickel market chaos on March 8, 2022, Jane Street lawyer said.

22 Jun 2023 - 6:00AM

Banking & finance

LME had options to avoid cancelling trades during nickel crisis, funds say

A judicial review in London is considering claims by Elliott Associates and Jane Street Global Trading that they were disenfranchised by LME’s response to chaos in the nickel market.

21 Jun 2023 - 6:00AM

Banking & finance

LME set to defend itself in 3-day trial in London over nickel chaos

The HKEX-owned bourse faces lawsuits from US hedge fund Elliott Associates and quantitative investing firm Jane Street Global Trading over its decision to suspend trading and cancel nickel trades in March 2022.

19 Jun 2023 - 6:30AM

Traders call out offers in the open outcry pit at the London Metal Exchange in February 2022. Photo: Bloomberg

HKEX

LME makes progress in reviving investor confidence after nickel fiasco: CEO

The 146-year-old metal trading bourse is doing something every day to earn investors’ trust, CEO Matthew Chamberlain says. This includes a two-year action plan to revive its markets.

17 May 2023 - 6:22AM

Matthew Chamberlain, CEO of London Metal Exchange, speaks during the LME Asia Metals seminar in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Photo: Bloomberg

HKEX

LME works with Chinese counterpart to launch EV battery metal contracts

The bourses, both owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, are together studying the possibility of offering investors the chance to buy and sell contracts of lithium carbonate, nickel sulphate and cobalt, said Dong Feng, general manager of the QME.

16 May 2023 - 10:03PMvideocam

Banking & finance

LME to overhaul margins, introduce new nickel contract in market revamp

With its new “action plan”, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing-owned bourse is seeking to rebuild investor confidence a year after chaos in nickel market.

31 Mar 2023 - 1:17AMvideocam

Commodities

JPMorgan’s mystery rocks: the hunt for clues begins with a kick

For the LME, the warehouse issue represents yet another headache as it wades through the fallout of its last nickel crisis a year ago.

25 Mar 2023 - 7:27PM

Rocks from a nickel mining site operated by Gema Kreasi Perdana (GKP) on Wawonii island in Indonesia’s Sulawesi on February 8, 2023. Photo: AFP.

Banking & finance

Can HKEX-owned LME rebuild its reputation a year after nickel chaos?

The fallout from chaos in the nickel market last March has hurt volumes at the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing-owned London Metal Exchange and emboldened potential competitors as the bourse prepares to relaunch trading during Asian business hours.

18 Mar 2023 - 10:00AMvideocam

Banking & finance

British financial watchdog opens enforcement inquiry into LME nickel chaos

The Financial Conduct Authority will investigate the London Metal Exchange’s conduct and controls after last year’s temporary suspension of nickel trading.

3 Mar 2023 - 9:23PMvideocam

HKEX

HKEX readies London office in bid to secure more international listings

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the city’s stock-exchange operator, will open an office in London in the first half of this year to attract international listings and more overseas investors.

2 Mar 2023 - 7:47PMvideocam

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