ACE gets 3 months time to convert itself into national bourse

Commodity market regulator FMC today said it has given three months' more time to the Kotak Group-promoted Ahmedabad Commodity Exchange (ACE) to convert from a national exchange to a regional bourse.

At present, there are four national level exchanges -- MCX, NCDEX, NMCE and ICEX -- and 19 regional bourses.

FMC had given one year's time till May 13 this year to the Ahmedabad Commodity Exchange to become a national bourse and for which it was required to set up infrastructure for conducting demutualised trading and raise net worth to Rs 100 crore.

"The commission extended the time limit for ACE by three months till August 13 for completing all necessary formalities required for seeking final recognition as a nationwide multi commodity exchange," Forward Markets Commission (FMC) Member Rajiv Aggarwal told PTI.

Apart from demutualisation, a regional exchange needs to increase its workforce, replace the existing open outcry system with online screen-based trading and have delivery centres across the country for various commodities.

Meanwhile, the regulator has approved the appointment of Dilip Bhatia as Chief Executive Officer of ACE, the FMC said on its website.

ACE, which deals in castor seeds futures, had a trading volume of 30 tonnes in the first fortnight of this month.