Brazil's Batista to launch energy exchange: report

Brazilian industrial magnate Eike Batista listens to a question during the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit in Rio de Janeiro May 3, 2010. .

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian business leaders, including tycoon Eike Batista, will launch an energy and futures exchange in an attempt to bring more transparency and a price reference to the energy market, Valor Economico newspaper reported on Monday.

The BRIX exchange, to be launched formally on Tuesday, will use the electronic platform of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which already offers access to its trading system in the United States to Brazilian users.

Only short-term bilateral contracts would be traded in the exchange, according to the financial newspaper. In theory, BRIX would bring together all auctions that already take place between energy generation companies, traders and consumers in Brazil.

Later it could be expanded to include long-term bilateral agreements and then multilateral deals, such as those found in conventional futures exchanges.

Depending on the development of the market, a clearing house could be added to the exchange, Valor reported.

But the exchange will likely have to face energy traders' resistance in sharing information about the deals signed between generating companies and final consumers, a market that currently lacks liquidity and transparency, Valor Economico said.

(Reporting by Inae Riveras; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)