Mumbai, Jan 5 (PTI) Premier exchange BSE, which isready to launch commodities derivatives as and when theregulator comes out with detailed regulations, will enter thesegment with non-agri products such as bullion, base metals,crude, and natural gas among others.On December 28, the markets watchdog Sebi hadannounced that from next October, the country would have aunified exchange regime wherein stock exchanges would beallowed to offer trading in commodities derivatives. Detailedguidelines are awaited.And the BSE has become the first bourse to come outwith a detailed plan on commodities derivatives since then andannounced a free-membership for the commodities segment."We would initially focus on non-agri products such asbullion, silver, other base metals, and oil and natural gasfutures and options. We've already upgraded our technology andour brokers will be able to trade in commodity futures on thesame screen," BSE managing director and chief executiveAshishkumar Chauhan has said.The oldest Asian bourse, which was ready to enter thecommodities segment way back in 2015, feels that it needs morepreparations to enter the agri commodities segment."Early 2015, we had approached the Forward MarketsCommission to begin commodities derivatives, and thensuddenly in September 2015 the FMC was merged with the Sebi,"Chauhan said here last evening.Then BSE launched the International Exchange at theGift City last January which trades in bullion derivativessince the past six months, and is clocking around USD 300million volume daily, enjoying 15 per cent of the total openinterest in gold now, he said."So we are ready to launch trading in commoditiesderivatives anytime from now and are awaiting detailedguidelines from the regulator Sebi," Chauhan added.When asked about whether the exchange will charge afee from brokers to trade in commodities derivatives, Chauhansaid no, as "there is hardly any major investment that wewill have make. The only investment that is needed is inputting up additional servers. There is no major marginal costthat we will be incurring."He said the premier bourse is also not charginganything extra from it's over 1,300 registered brokers forcurrency trade. But he did not say how many of them.Expressing confidence that the BSE will be ableattract enough liquidity for commodities trading, Chauhan saidBSE can leverage its technology to succeed in this segment asit did with currencies since 2013."For over 120 years we were leaders in equities in thecountry. But then in 1994 the NSE came in and the liquiditymoved to them. Similarly, when we entered currencies, we werenowhere for long but today, we are the leaders. So, who knowswhere the liquidity will move when we enter commoditiesderivatives," Chauhan averred.He based his optimism to the superior tradingtechnology that BSE has acquired from the Deutsche Borse groupwhich enabled it to become the largest and the fastestexchange offering currency and interest rate futuresderivatives apart from the success with currencies.The Sebi's universal exchanges move will intensifycompetition among the equity bourses BSE and the NSE, andcommodities players like Multi-Commodity Exchange, andNational Commodity & Derivatives Exchange.The larger rival NSE is also reportedly keen to enterthe commodities space. Earlier last month, NSE managingdirector Vikram Limaye had said the exchange was ready tolaunch commodity derivatives once Sebi issued the guidelines."If and when Sebi comes out with regulations NSE would certainly be ready to get into commodities," he had said. PTI
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