South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) has announced that its member Exchange, MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) has received approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for commencing operations in new asset classes. At present, MCX-SX offers trading in currency futures contract and this development will enable the exchange to offer additional asset classes.
SEBI has granted MCX-SX permission to deal in Equity and Equity Futures & Options, Interest Rate Futures and wholesale debt segments. According to SAFE’s Secretary General, Mr. Aftab Ahmad Chaudhry, “this development will enable the much-needed broad-basing of Indian financial markets, promote inclusive growth and offer Indian investors a choice of products and services suited to their risk profile. It will also boost capital raising and facilitate risk management function for large corporate as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs).”
It may be mentioned that MCX-SX has been a market leader in the currency segment, witnessing a steady and significant growth in turnover and market share ever since its inception. The average daily turnover increased from Rs 355 crore during its first month of operations to Rs 12,927.83 crore in June 2012. MCX-SX currently witnesses a nationwide participation from across 707 towns and cities in India, which is supported by a strong membership base of 750 members.
MCX-SX has worked towards growth and development of the exchange-traded currency derivatives market in India. Several initiatives introduced by MCX-SX have been recognised as truly pioneering in the industry and contributed greatly in enabling this segment to gain a critical mass in just four years since its inception. Among most significant market development initiatives introduced by MCX-SX are reduction of the gap of collections of mark-to-market (MTM) margins, deployment of technology for continued operations during sun outage, launch of the Exchange website in 12 language, SMS and WAP service for currency futures price information and launch of India’s first handbook and CD on Currency Futures. Besides the above efforts, MCX-SX has forged several alliances, including with trade associations, media and top educational institutions, for financial literacy programmes and other market developmental initiatives.
Mr. Aftab Ahmad Chaudhry has congratulated Mr. Ashok Jha, Chairman, Mr. Jignesh Shah, Vice-Chairman, and Mr. Joseph Massey, MD&CEO, MCX-SX on the approval. Mr. Massey, who serves as the current Chairman of the South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) as well stated that with the approval, the stage is set for the MCX-SX to become an internationally linked stock exchange which will create a conducive environment for the growth of all asset classes. He said that MCX SX will continue with its efforts of systematic development of markets and the financial market ecosystem in the region.
South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) is a cooperative platform launched by the bourses in South Asia with the purpose to promote the development and harmonization of the securities markets in the region. SAFE is a not for profit association having Recognized Body status of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, and is a network exchange association of the World Federation of Exchanges. SAFE comprises of 15 stock & commodity exchanges, five depository & clearing institutions and two affiliate members from eight South Asian countries, Kazakhstan, Mauritius and UAE. The permanent Secretariat of SAFE is located at Islamabad, Pakistan, and works as an independent Secretariat of the Federation.
