DEMAND for messages by financial institutions in China will continue to expand "at double digits" this year despite an economic slowdown elsewhere, said SWIFT, a provider of standardized financial message exchange services to global firms, yesterday in Shanghai.

Booming cross-border trade, investment and financial derivative product activities will boost the message demand in China, said Ian Johnston, SWIFT's chief executive, Asia Pacific Region, who visited Shanghai to attend the SWIFT Business Forum.

SWIFT's message exchange traffic in China jumped 26 percent last year, higher than the global level of 19 percent, according to Michael Cheung, head of SWIFT China.

"The RMB is not fully convertible now, therefore China's traffic is not influenced by the US economic crisis. Meanwhile, we sense opportunities in the securities market," said Johnston.

China is expected to launch either margin trading or stock futures or both by the end of this year, industry insiders said.

Globally, SWIFT, or Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, has 8,385 clients from banks, securities institutions and corporate customers in more than 208 countries or regions. The average daily message traffic is about 15 million, according to the nonprofitable organization.

SWIFT also plans to open an office in Shanghai in November after opening offices in Beijing and Hong Kong.