MCX trying to get nod for contracts for next year

At Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX)'s 12th annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, the company said its management was making all efforts to sign a software technology contract agreement with Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL), its former promoter, so that the exchange secured approval to launch contracts for next year.

It also wants FTIL to sell its 15 per cent stake in the exchange to Kotak Mahindra Bank soon.

FTIL has maintained it is exiting the exchange business and signing an agreement with Kotak Mahindra Bank by the end of this month. "FTIL has written to FMC (Forward Markets Commission), indicating the stake sale will be completed by September 30. It has marked a copy of the letter to MCX," said an FTIL source.

In July, Kotak Mahindra Bank had agreed to buy FTIL's 15 per cent stake in MCX.

On Wednesday, it will be announced whether or not the shareholders, through e-voting, have approved related-party transactions between MCX and FTIL, or have empowered the board to re-negotiate these. Shareholders' decision on promoting P K Singhal to the post of joint managing director will also be announced.

At the AGM, shareholders were informed the exchange felt the prospects of the SME exchange weren't good and, therefore, it was considering winding up these operations. Sources said MCX was considering exiting MCX-Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) and had already written to the Securities and Exchange Board of India on this. According to MCX-SX's shareholding pattern in July, MCX held 4.86 per cent stake in the stock exchange (37.68 per cent if its warrants were converted).

MCX is also selling its stake in DGCX, a Dubai-based commodity exchange.