New Delhi :Top index provider S&P Dow Jones is gearing up to open new indices for BSE International Exchange at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) city.
“New indices for GIFT are a work in progress and we arestill in the process of research,” said S&P Dow Jones IndicesManaging Director (product management) Alka Banerjee. “The idea is not simply to take a foreign index but to usean Indian index and perhaps use another currency for trading(at the international exchange),” she added.
However, Banerjee, did not give any timeline for the launching the new indices on the international exchange.
S&P Dow Jones Indices is the largest global resource foressential index-based concepts, data and research, and home toiconic financial market indicators such as the S&P 500 and theDow Jones Industrial Average. Its joint venture with BSE – Asia Index Private Ltd -maintains Asian indices under the umbrella brand S&P BSEIndices including the Sensex, a leading indicator of Indianequity market performance. BSE’s proposed international exchange and internationalclearing corporation at the country’s first InternationalFinancial Services Centre (IFSC) is expected to be operationalby January next year.
The international exchange is expected to provide anelectronic trading platform that facilitates domesticcompanies to raise capital in foreign currency by issuingforeign currency-denominated bonds and trade in suchsecurities. BSE is planning to invest Rs 500 crore for setting up theinternational exchange, which will offer a variety ofinternational products. The international exchange will startoff with derivatives products.
“For derivatives, the decision is for the exchange to makewhat would work best for their clients. For example, theSensex is already listed on the Dubai exchange,” Banerjeesaid. “This also requires the exchange where the local stocklistings exist to provide permission.” The international exchange is expected to help Indianstart-ups raise equity from foreign investors by gettinglisted and provide companies incorporated outside India aplatform to raise money in foreign currencies by issuanceand listing of their shares on the international exchange.
PTI