Playing Chinese bond games

The first interest rate cut in five years has helped to boost the Chinese bond market, which is being reformed and currently enjoying a good run. But there are still problems. The market is relatively new and lacks experienced traders. More worryingly, the government closed down the futures market after Wanguo Securities crashed because of a bad speculation. Although China is keen to have foreign investors in the market, it says this won't happen until the reforms are completed ­ which it estimates will take several years. Sophie Röell reports