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Trading through mobile phones is picking up speed, with investors’ use of the avenue in 2013 growing to twice its size the previous year.
The volume of transactions through the mobile phone route accounted for Rs 16,975 crore in total monthly turnover on the National Stock Exchange in December 2012. This had risen to Rs 32,575 crore by November 2013, according to exchange data.
The share of mobile phone trading rose from 11 basis points to 22 basis points in the same period on the BSE, according to data on its website. One hundred basis points is equal to one%. Figures for MCX Stock Exchange were not available.
Vinay Agrawal Executive Director – Equity Broking at Angel Broking said that there were a couple of factors which helped the surge in the use of mobile phones for stock market trading.
“Smart phone connectivity has been on the rise and 3G pricing has also been conducive towards the rise of internet usage. …The share of mobile trading as a percentage of retail market turnover is expected to be in double-digits in the next three years,” he said.
Nitin Jain who heads the Retail Capital Market division at Edelweiss Financial Services Limited too agreed that rise in smart-phone penetration and convenience of use has helped fuel growth.
“I do expect 100% growth on a year-on-year basis over the next couple of years,” he said.
He added that his revenue per client on the mobile platform is higher than the on-line medium, suggesting that investors trade more on the mobile phone than they do in front of a desk-top.
The rising trend of stock market transactions mirrors the emergence of mobile phones as an important means of internet access, expected to account for more than half of the over 200 million internet users in India.
An I-Cube 2013 report, released by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International estimated the number of mobile internet users in India to be at 110 million in October, and predicted that it would reach 130 million by December-end.
“India will have 243 million internet users, at which point of time, it is expected to overtake the US as the second largest Internet base in the world. China currently leads with more than 300 million internet users while the US currently has estimated 207 million internet users,” said the report. It estimates that 103 million of these mobile internet users are to be from urban India while rural India was expected to hit 27 million users.
Meanwhile, another report pegged the number of smart phone users in India at 382 million by 2016. The report was put out in September by Avendus Capital and explored India’s mobile internet revolution, based on the brokerages own calculations as well as estimates from advisory firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
A spokesperson for MCX-SX said that use of mobile phones and hand-held devices for trading is gaining momentum. Applications or 'apps' which make use of the ultra-fast 3G or 4G technology is the next wave, he suggested.
“The market will soon witness introduction of Apps for various platforms and other 3G / 4G enabled value added services, charting tools etc,” said the person.
