Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX), the first pan-Asian multi-product commodity and currency derivatives exchange, today announced that its pioneer Special Clearing Member (SCM), the Singapore branch of ICICI Bank Limited (ICICI Bank), India?s second largest bank, has started clearing and settling trade activities for SMX with its 1st trade cleared on 30th December 2010 for the SMX Singapore-deliverable gold futures contract.
Singapore is the first location for an Indian bank to clear and settle futures contracts for an exchange outside India. ICICI Bank?s SMX membership followed closely the opening of the bank?s first retail branch in Singapore. Trading on the fully-electronic SMX platform went live in the second half of last year with futures contracts for WTI crude oil, Brent crude oil denominated in Euros, gold with physical delivery-based settlement and Euro-US Dollar currency futures.
Framroze Pochara, Executive Director of SMX & Chief Executive Officer of the SMX Clearing Corporation said: “We are very happy to have ICICI on board and involved in the clearing and settlement of the 1st trade of their customers. It is also very gratifying for us that more international members are getting ready to clear and settle trades on SMX as General Clearing Members.”
ICICI Bank currently clears and settles trades for its regional and international customers, and can do so for any other non-clearing member of SMX.
New products launching soon on the exchange include the world?s first black pepper futures contract, iron ore futures* based on the Metal Bulletin Iron Ore Index and futures contracts for energy products currently trading on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM)* including TOCOM crude oil, gasoline, kerosene and gas oil.
*Subject to regulatory approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).