FTSE Russell, SBI tie-up to create Indian bond index series

London Stock Exchange Group's global index and data provider FTSE Russell today announced that FTSE Russell and State Bank of India (SBI) are working closely to create the FTSE TMX SBI India Index series.

The announcement follows the signing of a letter of intent between the two parties last year. The index series will give market participants from India, the UK and internationally the tools they need to analyze India's bond market.

The commitment to create this innovative index series demonstrates significant progress in the development of India's bond market, a priority of the India UK Financial Partnership (UKFP), launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Indian Finance Minister in July 2014.

"State Bank of India (SBI), India's largest Commercial bank, has teamed up with FTSE Russell to launch the FTSE TMX SBI India Bond Index. This index addresses the long felt interest of investors to have a credible benchmark for Indian debt. Launched by FTSE Russell in collaboration with SBI, India's most active player in the domestic bond market, the index will act as a key enabler for foreign investors looking to invest in Indian debt market and will contribute to accelerating the development and deepening of the Indian bond markets," said Chairman of State Bank of India, Arundhati Bhattacharya.

"FTSE Russell has strong relationships across India and we are delighted to be working with SBI to create this new index series for India's bond market. The launch of a series of indexes that provides investors with the tools to analyze this market represents a significant step in its development. We look forward to working with SBI on this index series and creating innovative index products which can be used to help build investment in India and develop deeper pools of liquidity in the sovereign and corporate bond markets," said CEO of Fixed Income and Multi Asset FTSE Russell, Waqas Samad.

FTSE Russell index expertise and products are used extensively by institutional and retail investors globally, with approximately USD 10 trillion currently benchmarked to FTSE Russell indexes.

FTSE Russell ranks in the top three fixed income index providers globally. With around 40 percent of institutional fund AuM currently allocated to fixed income, this is a rapidly expanding area for FTSE Russell offering both global indexes and analytical systems.

London Stock Exchange Group has a long history of working with partners in India and enjoys close collaboration with a number of Indian organisations including National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE).

There are currently 44 Indian companies listed in London with a combined market capitalization of Pounds 142 billion.

London has also established itself as the leading centre for off-shore Rupee debt issuance, with 33 Masala bonds listed on London Stock Exchange, raising equivalent to approximately USD four billion.