BSE Promotes Indian Market Tech, Settlement Safeguards In Africa Outreach

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is open to strengthening ties with African markets through Afrinex, a Mauritius-based multi-currency and multi-asset exchange, BSE Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sundararaman Ramamurthy said on Tuesday.

Speaking to a delegation of international journalists on a familiarisation visit to the BSE in Mumbai, Ramamurthy said Afrinex — set up with backing from the Government of Mauritius and technology support from BSE — was intended to give African countries, including Nigeria, a channel into Indian and global markets.

“Afrinex is supposed to be the gateway for all African nations through which the continent can approach the Indian and global markets,” he said.

Ramamurthy also spoke about India’s derivatives market, saying trading volumes and participation had grown steadily since the 1970s, when derivatives markets first gained prominence internationally. He described India as now accounting for a significant share of global stock index options activity, though he did not cite specific figures.

On investor protection, Ramamurthy pointed to India’s use of dematerialised (Demat) accounts, through which purchased securities are credited electronically, and sale proceeds transferred directly to linked bank accounts. He said this, along with settlement guarantee mechanisms, was intended to reduce transaction risk.

He said India’s market infrastructure runs on a T+1 settlement cycle with audit trails he described as supporting transparency. “There are lots of products, lots of members, lots of foreigners participating, with technology as a backbone,” he said.

Ramamurthy cited exchange-traded funds, mutual funds with overseas exposure, and the Liberalised Remittance Scheme — which allows eligible Indian residents to invest abroad within set limits — as existing channels linking Indian and international investors. He also referred to Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) as a hub connecting international investors to Indian and global financial products.

The visit included a market-closing bell ceremony, in which members of the visiting media delegation participated alongside Ramamurthy.