FT to launch three international exchanges

Billionaire Jignesh Shah-promoted Financial Technologies said it will launch three new international exchanges, including Bahrain Financial Exchange and Singapore Mercantile Exchange, this year.

The Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX) will go live in August 2010, the Global Board of Trade (GBOT), Mauritius in September and the Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) in October this year, the company said in a statement.

The bourses, as regulated market platforms, will endeavor to be the enablers of financial inclusion through efficient transmission of fiscal and monetary policies of their respective governments and regulators and will democratise 'access' to financial products and services, Financial Technologies said.

They aim to propagate inclusive and equitable growth and an investment cult in regions they operate in to further propel economic growth and job creation in their respective local markets, it said.

"Financial Technologies Group is perhaps the first company in the history of modern civilisation to successfully set up three greenfield regulated exchanges from ground-up which would go live in the same year," Financial Technologies Group Chairman and Group CEO Jignesh Shah said.

SMX, based out of Singapore, will be regulated by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), GBOT by Financial Services Commission (FSC) and BFX by Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

SMX -- as an international Pan-Asian Exchange -- will offer a basket of commodities including bullion, base metals, energy, grains and soft agricultural produce, commodity indices, currencies and oil as well as other financial instruments on its trading platform.

BFX will be the first multi-asset exchange offering conventional and Islamic financial products from the Middle-East providing an avenue for global market participants to access alternate investment options in Shariah-compliant financial instruments as well as conventional derivatives and cash products, the company said.

GBOT -- based out of Mauritius -- will be the gateway for the US and the Europe to the African and Asian markets. The exchange will offer trading on both currency and commodity derivatives.

The FT Group operates one of the world's largest networks of ten exchanges connecting Africa, Middle East, India and South East Asia. In India, Financial Technologies is a promoter of several bourses, including the MCX and the MCX-SX.