(Yicai Global) Dec. 16 -- The Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange started trading methyl alcohol and purified terephthalic acid options today, China's first for energy and chemical products, according to the Henan province-based market's website.

Options trading in PTA and methyl alcohol can build a multi-layer risk hedging system for businesses, mitigating risk in the industry, Li Bin, vice president of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, said at the launch ceremony.

Last year, China started to allow foreign traders to invest in its PTA futures and is expected to soon start to internationalize methyl alcohol futures. This will help the country have more influence on global prices.

China is the largest producer and retailer of the two chemicals. It makes around half of the world's PTA and 60 percent of its methyl alcohol. PTA is the main raw material used in chemical fibers, while methyl alcohol, also known as methanol, is a basic component used in construction materials, medicine and many other fields. It is also an emerging clean energy fuel.

The ZCE, one of China's four main commodity markets, launched PTA futures in 2006 and methyl alcohol futures in 2011. Since then, almost 90 percent of Chinese PTA manufacturers and 80 percent of large polyester makers use these futures as a hedging tool. It has also prompted major methyl alcohol makers, downstream industries and over 90 percent of related traders to trade methyl alcohol futures.