By Inti Landauro
French power company GDF Suez SA (GSZ.FR) Thursday said it has opened a trading floor in Singapore to handle the hedging of its exposure to energy prices in Asia, a region where the company seeks to expand.
"The reason for introducing GDF Suez Trading's operations in Singapore is to support the group's expansion in Asia-Pacific and to develop hedging offers for its customers and counterparties in the area," the company said in a statement. GDF Suez' counterparties include producers, transport operators, intermerdiaries and industrial companies.
The GDF Suez Singapore traders will handle contracts on crude oil, refined products, coal and Asian LNG. The floor will start with 12 traders and salesmen as well as a team of support staff.
GDF Suez intends to expand in Asia where the demand for energy is rising fast. The company already operates power generation, liquefied gas and exploration-production in the region.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@dowjones.com
