Asia’s oldest bourse, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday launched currency derivatives segment (BSE-CDX) that would enable participants to hedge their currency risks through trading in the US dollar-rupee future platform.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) had kicked-off exchange-traded currency futures for the first time in the country on August 29, while leading commodity bourse Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) is expected to launch the facility soon.
MCX had secured the in-principle approval for commencing currency futures trading in August this year.
Earlier, participants had to depend on over-the-counter (OTC) products such as forwards, swaps and options to hedge their currency risks.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman C B Bhave inaugurated the BSE-CDX platform on the BSE.
The market regulator and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are in discussions to bring about further relaxation in the currency trading norms, Bhave said.
“RBI and SEBI are working together to relax the currency trading norms,” Bhave said.
The regulators have been trying to ensure transparency and timely settlement of transactions in the system, which are essential to develop a healthy financial system in the country, Bhave said.
“We have been trying to bring in assurance of settlement and transparency in the market … the present financial crisis in global markets is an outcome of lack of faith on these principles,” Bhave said.