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By Bloomberg

China’s probe of algorithmic trading in the stock market has done nothing to dissuade high-frequency traders from expanding on the nation’s burgeoning commodities exchanges.

Virtu Financial Inc., one of the world’s biggest high-speed trading firms, said on Wednesday it started buying and selling commodities listed in mainland China. Optiver, which has been active in the nation’s commodities markets for about two years, said Tuesday it’s growing its business in Greater China. KCG Holdings Inc. said in June it sees opportunities in the region.

The expansion plans suggest computer-driven traders are keeping their resolve amid unprecedented government intervention in Chinese equities, including a freeze on more than 30 accounts suspected of fueling volatility with automated trading strategies. China, the world’s largest consumer of commodities, is seeking to extend its clout over raw-materials prices by opening up to a larger pool of investors with its own contracts.

“Things will settle, things will get back to normal,” said Benedict Cheng, a Hong Kong-based managing consultant at capital markets advisory GreySpark Partners. “You have to put money in China.”

The country’s measures to stabilize stocks amid an almost $4 trillion rout are temporary, China’s market regulator said last week. Citadel Securities, the trading firm started by billionaire Ken Griffin, owns one of the 38 accounts frozen by Chinese exchanges as authorities investigate spoofing, a practice that involves placing then canceling orders to move prices.

New Contracts

Virtu reached an agreement during the second quarter with a Chinese brokerage house to provide liquidity on “a very limited basis,” according to Chief Executive Officer Doug Cifu.

“We are certainly cognizant of the recent market volatility in China, and the regulatory scrutiny being placed on electronic trading by the local regulator,” Cifu said. “Long term, we view China as an established capital market with volumes comparable to the largest markets in which we operate.”

Optiver will hire analysts in Hong Kong and move its senior partner in Asia to the city. The Amsterdam-based firm trades commodities and futures contracts on the Shanghai and Dalian exchanges. It also has offices in Shanghai and Taiwan.

The Shanghai Gold Exchange started trading bullion in the free-trade zone in September, giving foreign investors direct access to its precious metals market for the first time. With the start of nickel and tin trading in March, the Shanghai Futures Exchange now offers the same main contracts as the London Metals Exchange, the world’s biggest such bourse.

The Shanghai International Energy Exchange Corp., a unit of the Shanghai Futures Exchange, plans to begin trading yuan- denominated crude futures later this year.

High-frequency traders “are betting on future regulatory benefits,” said Nicholas Britz, an analyst at Shanghai-based Z- Ben Advisors. “That is definitely the trend that the government is pushing forward.”