Investors will still be able to trade in the relaunched Nifty in GIFT City via SGX

After 22 years of success in Singapore, the USD 7 billion open interest contract will be reissued on GIFT City on July 3, 2023, allowing foreign investors to continue trading via Singapore Exchange (SGX Group).

Given that it is the first cross-border endeavour linking the financial markets of Singapore and India, this partnership is noteworthy.

According to Janice Kan, Managing Director of Head of Markets Equities at SGX Group, “SGX Group will continue to provide international access to USD-denominated Nifty contracts, which have been renamed GIFT Nifty starting July 3, 2023, alongside other SGX derivatives products.”

As they have done for more than 20 years, investors may trade and settle Nifty contracts via SGX. Orders will be sent over the Connect to NSE IX for trade matching, and completed transactions will be cleared and settled on SGX, according to Kan, a seasoned veteran of the equities market with over three decades of expertise.

Kan has followed the evolution of the Nifty derivatives as interest in the Indian equities markets among investors grown over time.

When the Nifty brand was launched by NSE in 1996, SGX was in a good position to assist with internationalisation since it operates in a AAA-rated global financial hub and serves as a neutral trading and clearing venue.

After signing a collaboration agreement, NSE and SGX debuted the USD-denominated Nifty futures on SGX in September 2000.

Today, it dominates all other Indian equities indices, accounting for 52% of the offshore open interest in Indian equity indices.

“This speaks volumes of the demand and interest in the Nifty contracts and the international branding that SGX has built for the domestic India benchmark,” Kan further said.

Kan said that the goal of moving the Nifty trade matching to Ahmedabad’s single liquidity pool is to create a more comprehensive liquidity pool with participation from both Indian and foreign investors.

She emphasised, “With the GIFT Connect, we are expanding the ecosystem. “The market has enormous growth potential.”

The governments and regulatory bodies in Singapore and India both fully endorse The GIFT Connect.

From conception to full-scale operations on July 3, 2023, it took four years, according to Kan.