Chinese government officials do not face the same requirements for transparency and accountability as in many other places, but they are not impervious to pressure from lobbyists.

The Chinese securities regulator faces an outcry from investors and futures and securities brokerages who have been waiting for nearly a year for the launch of what will be the country's first financial futures products.

Besides a couple of currency swapsand a few basic warrants introduced as part of a government share reform, China does not have any financial derivatives whatsoever.

Some disgruntled industry insiders say the delay has been caused by senior officials who do not want to be associated with anything that could bring added market volatility before their imminent promotion to another part of the government.

Judging from China's recent history they have good reason to be concerned.

In February 1995 a rumour spread through the market that the Ministry of Finance would pay compensation to government bondholders, sparking speculation in treasury futures.

China's first financial derivative product, introduced in the early 1990s, subsequently took off.

The ensuing madness forced the Shanghai Stock Exchange to cancel huge volumes of trades, led to the government banning all financial derivatives and many commodities futures and bankrupted one of the country's largest securities firms.

The founder and president of that firm is still in jail and regulatory officials are still wary enough to resist pressure from the industry and investors and not rush to launch a new market they feel they will not be able to control.