Thomson Reuters partners with India's MCX to create futures-based commodity indices
Multi Commodity Exchange of India, the country's top trading venue for commodity futures, announced an agreement in July with Thomson Reuters to launch co-branded commodity indices.
The two have agreed to work together to create a series of indices that track the performance of commodity derivatives listed on MCX. MCX will have the exclusive rights to list the co-branded indices on its own platform for trading and Thomson Reuters will be authorized to sub-license the indices to financial institutions, such as alternative investment funds or mutual funds.
The announcement was prompted by recent actions by the Securities and Exchange Board of India to open up commodity markets to a wider range of investors. The government agency recently allowed trading in commodity options and has begun expanding the ability of financial institutions such as mutual funds to enter the commodity futures market.
"We are upbeat about the new opportunities opening up in the commodity derivatives market and want to make the most of such opportunities to reach out to all stakeholders," said Mrugank Paranjape, managing director and CEO of MCX. "By creating the best-in-class commodity indices and governing them in accordance with established global standards, this partnership can set a benchmark in the work of index-based investing in India's commodity derivatives market."
