HDFC Bank to buy 10% in MMTC-Indiabulls commex

HDFC Bank has applied to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to buy 10 per cent stake in MMTC-Indiabulls promoted commodity exchange, which is expected to be operational by March 2009, a top MMTC official said today.

"HDFC Bank has applied to the RBI for 10 per cent stake in our exchange," MMTC Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Batra told reporters here.

HDFC Bank, which has over 444 branches in 202 cities of the country, holds 2 per cent stake in Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX).

Announcing that the new exchange would be operational by March 2009, he said MMTC and Indiabulls would have 26 per cent and 40 per cent stake, respectively. MMTC employees will have 2 per cent stake in the exchange, he added.

Batra also said Indian Potash (IPL) would be the fourth partner and would hold 10 per cent stake in the exchange.

Meanwhile for technology support, MMTC Chief said it has shortlisted software biggies -- TCS, Wipro and three other companies.

The proposed exchange would be set up in Gurgaon, becoming the fourth commodity exchange at national level, after MCX, NCDEX and NMCE.

The brokerage firm Indiabulls and MMTC had applied for the new exchange in October 2007 and it received the commodity market regulator's approval in July 2008. The approval was delayed due to the new guidelines brought out by the Forward Markets Commission.

The country has 22 commodity exchanges, including three national bourses, and their combined turnover in 2007-08 fiscal stood at Rs 40,65,989 crore.