On 27 March 27 2020, Shanxi Securities International Financial Holdings Limited ("SSIF"), a Hong Kong based broker who is wholly-owned by Shanxi Securities Co., Ltd., a Chinese securities firm, announced that SSIF DCE Iron Ore Futures Index ETF ("SSIF ETF"), the world's first cross-border iron ore futures Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), has been listed on Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and available for trading.

China is the world's largest consumer of iron ore, whose share accounts for nearly 70% of the global annual consumption. Only around 20% of China's annual consumption are supplied domestically, which makes it the world's largest iron ore importer as well. The SSIF ETF is based on the iron ore prices under the futures contracts of Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE), which, based on statistics of Futures Industry Association (FIA), rank the 2nd place globally among all metal futures and option contracts in terms of trading volume in 2018.

Llinks, as SSIF's PRC legal counsel, advised the manager on the relevant PRC law issues in connection with the offering and listing of the fund. Such legal issues include but not limited to advising on the unique schemes and systems in the PRC futures market (such as the trading code system, closed-cycle management of margins, etc.) and significant legal issues that overseas institutions are concerned with (such as segregation of assets of fund manager, futures broker and designated depository bank, ownership of client's assets under futures broker's margin account and open interests under client's futures contracts, trustee's standing to claim the fund's assets in margin account and client settlement account when designated depository bank becomes bankrupt, etc.)

Previously, members of Llinks' fund team (derivatives workgroup) also participated in other market first projects regarding the opening up of China's financial market, including providing legal services for the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme and the listing of the first international futures contract – the crude oil futures of Shanghai International Energy Exchange.