Why China Acquired the London Metal Exchange: Banker

Traders, brokers, and clerks shout and gesture on the first day of in-person trading at the London Metal Exchange (LME) on September 06, 2021, in London, England. Leon Neal/Getty Images

In early March, nickel futures on the Chinese-owned London Metal Exchange (LME) surged by nearly 250 percent. The LME then made the unusual decision to suspend nickel trading for over a week, which canceled thousands of trades worth billions of dollars.

That debacle resulted in a probe and several lawsuits.