The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) have launched a platform to trade and clear Nifty equity derivatives contracts for global institutions.
The platform, NSE ISFC-SGX Connect, will enable orders from trading members on the Singaporean exchange to be routed to NSE IFSC for execution, with post-trade requirements handled through NSE IFSC Clearing Corporation and SGX Group’s Derivatives Clearing as central counterparty.
The two exchanges state that NSE ISFC-SGX Connect provides an innovative pathway through which international investors can build exposure to India’s growth, with SGX Group’s trading infrastructure in the Gujarat International Finance (GIFT) City enabling global investors to trade Nifty derivatives contacts listed on NSE IFSC, supported by global standards of risk management and clearing.
This solution will offer international investors real-time access to NSE IFSC market data to support their trading activities.
Launched on 29 July, seven SGX trading members will be integrated in the first phase of onboarding, namely Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Securities, OCBC Securities, Orient Futures International (Singapore), Philip Nova, StoneX Financial and UBS.
Other trading members will be onboarded progressively to the new platform in subsequent phases.
NSE managing director and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan says: “Today is a historic day for NSE IFSC with the release of NSE IFSC-SGX. This Connect will consolidate the liquidity pool for Nifty products in the NSE IFSC exchange and will facilitate access for global market participants in GIFT City.
“Consequently, it will give a boost to the IFSC capital markets ecosystem and is an important step towards making GIFT City a preferred global destination for capital market activities.”
Loh Boon Chye, CEO of SGX Group, says: “The roll out of the Connect is a significant milestone for SGX Group and NSE and brings us one step closer to combining the growing domestic and international liquidity pools for Nifty products.
“We are confident that the Connect will be the key platform that connects the world to India, offering global investors unprecedented access to India’s capital markets.”
NSE IFSC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of NSE, was launched on 5 June 2017 and supports trading in Indian and global equity, index and currency derivatives, along with depository receipts and non-agriculture commodity derivatives.
This also allows trading in a wide range of products traded on stock exchanges in FATF/IOSCO-compliant jurisdictions, including equities listed outside of India, debt securities, interest rate derivatives and a range of exchange-traded products.
NSE IFSC indicates that it is the only stock exchange in GIFT City that has part 30 exemption from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
