
GIFT Nifty came home nearly two years ago, but it still has a long way to go
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s ambitious push to bring home trading in Nifty 50 derivatives has made limited progress in nearly two years, as many traders tempted by cost and logistical advantages keep faith in the Singapore Exchange (SGX). While the share of GIFT Nifty volumes originating from within GIFT City has nearly doubled to 33% during the period, it is still a long way from realizing the goal of attracting the majority of these trades to India.
In 2023, India's NSE and Singapore's SGX agreed to transition the SGX Nifty--popular among foreign traders keen to take exposure to the Indian markets--to the NSE International Exchange (NSE IX) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). However, brokers and traders said that the majority of trades in SGX Nifty, now rebranded GIFT Nifty, still originates from the Singapore exchange. The culprit: higher transaction costs and harder onboarding in India, and logistical advantages offered by Singapore's established financial infrastructure.
As per NSE IX website, the total cumulative traded value for GIFT Nifty surged from $611.95 billion in FY24 to $1.02 trillion in FY25 (as of February 2025). The average daily traded value rose from $3.19 billion in FY24 to $4.26 billion in the first 11 months of FY25. A breakup of the trades originated in GIFT City and SGX was not available.
Also read | NSE shrinks monthslong share transfer process to days ahead of a likely IPO A person aware of the matter said on the condition of anonymity that in GIFT Nifty's first year, around 17% of total volumes came directly to the NSE IX, while the rest came from SGX. Since then, the number has jumped to around 33%. GIFT Nifty is the flagship derivatives product of NSE IX,
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