Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman opened rupee-dollar derivative trading at GIFT City on Friday.
The inauguration was done virtually by the FM from New Delhi with India INX and NSE IFSC bourses launching trading in new derivative contracts on their respective platforms.
Market participants say the currency instrument would find takers among foreign portfolio investors, banking units located at the international financial services centre, global banks and NRIs, among others.
“GIFT City is the only international finance services center (IFSC) in India with zero short-term, zero long-term and zero transaction taxes, including zero stamp duty, as of date.
“All businessmen should consider setting up their hedging and dollar buying activities at GIFT City,” said Ashishkumar Chauhan, chairman, India INX.
The contract size of the rupee-dollar futures and options contract has been pegged at ₹10 lakh.
“Long trading hours and USD (U.S. Dollar) settlement at IFSC would also help to improve access for overseas participants. This shall, in turn, help these participants in hedging their rupee exposures effectively at IFSC,” said a statement by NSE IFSC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
