Commexes developing tradeable indices

MCX has a presence in agri segment but the larger part of its volumes come from elsewhere

The Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) have started developing indices for trading in derivatives.

This comes after the Securities and Exchange Board of India's decision to allow options trades in commodity derivatives. The exchanges hope Sebi will, in time, permit derivatives based on commodity indices and index-based products, like exchange traded funds.

Samir Shah, managing director of NCDEX, said: "We are building our own suite of indices. We recently developed a FARM index and are working on some more." NCDEX's market share is largely in agricultural commodities.

A spokesperson of MCX said: "We