Singapore Exchange to list Indian equity derivative products in June

(Reuters) - Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) on Wednesday said it would list Indian equity derivative products in June, a move which follows a decision by India's three main bourses to stop licensing their indexes to overseas exchanges.

The Indian exchanges' unexpected decision in February, which hit Singapore Exchange's shares, was aimed at preventing share trading from moving abroad.

The Singapore exchange said in February it would launch successor products to its flagship Indian equity index derivatives before its licence agreement with the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) expired in August 2018.

The new derivatives would be in addition to existing India single-stock futures given that these contracts have attracted active participation from global institutional clients since their launch, SGX said.

India's three main stock exchanges - NSE, BSE Ltd and Metropolitan Stock Exchange - took steps to stop losing trade to overseas rivals after SGX introduced trading in single-stock futures contracts.

Following Singapore Exchange's announcement on Wednesday, NSE said it was examining the new derivative products planned by SGX to see if they complied with the exchanges' February action.

"We will also have a discussion with other exchanges and the regulator once we have a better understanding and then determine course of action," NSE said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Indian exchanges' decision in February was fully endorsed by the Indian government.

The step was also aimed at boosting interest in the international financial centre being developed in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, called Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT City.

In Wednesday's statement, the Singapore exchange also said it was continuing to evaluate a joint trading and clearing model in GIFT City between the NSE and SGX.

"We are still exploring a solution that would bring the liquid international market directly into GIFT city, in a way that meets our clients' regulatory requirements while growing the overall market," Michael Syn, head of derivatives at SGX, said in the statement.

"In the meantime, we will continue with our new India equity derivative products, which international portfolio investors need to maintain exposure to India," he said.

(Reporting by Abhirup Roy in Mumbai and Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jane Merriman)