BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- China's finance ministry said Tuesday that the country will waive income taxes for overseas investors trading yuan-denominated crude oil futures contracts.

The tax exemption, with immediate effect, will cover both institutional and individual investors, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on its website.

Overseas brokerage firms will also be exempted from paying income tax on commissions they earn from dealing in the new futures contracts.

Analysts said the move aims to attract players for the much-anticipated launch of the new yuan-denominated crude oil futures contracts on March 26.

The MOF said the country will waive income tax for three years for overseas individual investors trading the new futures contracts, but did not specify the period of exemption for institutional investors.

The tax exemption will also apply to other commodity futures contracts which are open for overseas investors as approved by the State Council, the MOF said.

Trading of the new yuan crude oil futures contracts will start at 9 a.m. on March 26 at the Shanghai International Energy Exchange.

Trading margins for the futures will be set at 7 percent of the contract value. The upward and downward trading limits will be 5 percent, with the trading limits on the first trading day set at 10 percent of the benchmark prices.