BSE awaiting Sebi nod for commodity trading: CEO

Top stock exchange BSE is ready to launch trading in commodity derivatives and is waiting for the final approval of markets regulator Sebi to commence operations, its chief Ashish Chauhan has said.

BSE will offer trading in these products on a separate platform as against an earlier proposal to launch an entirely new exchange because the merger of erstwhile commodities regulator FMC with Sebi led to a unified marketplace for both equity and commodities.

It plans to offer derivatives trading in select commodities to begin with, while it will look at new products as and when they are allowed by the regulator, Chauhan said in an interview.

"We had applied to Sebi when FMC was there (as an independent regulator) and we were in process of applying to FMC also and had written to them that we want to set up a commodities derivative exchange. That was more than two years ago," he said.

"Then, FMC was merged with Sebi and then we were told that even stock exchanges can now also do commodities as a segment. So, we applied accordingly soon after and we are awaiting the approvals. As soon as the approvals come, we will start," he added.

Asserting that all necessary ground-work has been done by BSE, he said: "We have already got the software made, we have got the team which can do sales, clearing, a lot of other preparations are in place. Mock trading has also happened."

On the products, Chauhan said, "Whatever products are currently allowed, we should be comfortable trading in those and as and when new products are allowed, we can always look at them."

There are two major exchanges for commodity derivatives, MCX and NCDEX, while Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group is also betting big on this segment and is in process of relaunching the Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX).

BSE, which recently got listed after a bumper IPO, has expanded successfully in a number of areas in recent years and has seen business soar significantly in several segments including in mutual fund distribution, debt placement, currency derivatives and SME segment, besides equity markets.

Leading stock exchange BSE will start charging transaction fee on per trade basis from tomorrow, a move that is expected to attract a larger number of big deals. Under the new system, it will charge Re 1 per trade for up to 5 lakh transactions in a month; 70 paise for 5-10 lakh; 60 paise for 10-20 lakh and 30 paise for over 40 lakh.