 "GIFT IFSC")
India’s International Financial Services Center (IFSC) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) achieved a major milestone on Monday with the successful migration of Nifty derivatives contracts traded on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
On day one itself, the GIFT Nifty, earlier referred to as SGX Nifty, clocked trading turnover of more than $1 billion and open interest of over $8 billion. The turnover was expected to rise further as GIFT Nifty contracts are traded for nearly 21 hours, encompassing market hours in Asia, Europe, and the US.
The first session for GIFT Nifty contracts starts at 6:30 AM India time and closes at 3:55 PM, closer to the operations of the domestic market. The second session operations are between 4:35 PM IST and 2:45 AM the following day.
“We are proud of this important landmark with full scale operations of NSE IX – SGX GIFT Connect, with onshoring Nifty contracts to NSE IX. The Connect becomes a symbolic event of opportunity, innovation and unparalleled access between India and the world,” said NSE managing director and chief executive officer Ashishkumar Chauhan.
The arrangement between both exchanges was proposed after the Indian bourses decided to end licensing agreements with their overseas counterparts in 2018. The decision was aimed to bring liquidity and stop trading in domestic products on overseas exchanges.
GIFT City, characterised as a special economic zone, falls under the regulatory purview of the International Financial Services Center Authority (IFSCA).
“The complete migration of the re-branded GIFT-NIFTY to GIFT IFSC will consolidate the international liquidity pool for Nifty products in the NSE IX exchange and will a give a boost to GIFT-IFSC as a global hub for international financial products and services,” said Injeti Srinivas, chairman, IFSCA.
The NSE IX was set up at GIFT city in 2017 and offers products from index and currency derivatives to global stocks.
Industry experts say that the transition will help bring more inflow of US dollars and foreign capital to India along with offering a level playing field for both domestic and offshore investors.
