Chicago Board of Trade to revamp Indian Stock Exchanges

New Delhi, June 20 (UNI) The Chicago Board of Trade (CBT) is contemplating to open up its Asian office in India and is exploring possibilities to revamp, upgrade and modernise Indian stock exchanges, particularly those of Delhi and Mumbai.

This was announced by CBT Chairman Charles P Cares while his meeting with ASSOCHAM's 30-member business delegation, which is currently visiting the US.

Mr Cares said one of the locations in India had emerged as an ideal choice for the CBT's Asian office, adding that his Board of Trade is currently under intensive negotiations with the concerned Indian agencies for stock exchanges revamp and modernisation.

The CBT has also agreed to establish institutional linkages with India and Indian businessmen to broadbase Indo-US business relationship, indicated Mr Cares during his two-hour meeting with the ASSOCHAM delegation at Chicago yesterday.

The CBT is currently negotiating with relevant Indian agencies to find ways as to how it can channelise its strength to modernise the Indian stock exchanges, Mr Cares said.

It is the 158-year old exchange of the US and engages itself in every day's capital transfer transactions of about 250 trillion dollars.

ASSOCHAM President Anil K Agarwal is currently leading a high power business delegation to the US, which will return on June 23, and has so far had series of meetings with the US businessmen in Texas, Washington and Chicago.

Mr Agarwal said ASSOCHAM and CBT also signed an MoU in Chicago to give vital effect to whatever has transpired between the two institutions during their business interactions. The MoU aims at farthering the commercial relationship between India and the US.

''Indian stock exchanges which are certainly modern in their nature, need further modernisation and revamp with upgradation for their effective functioning and the CBT is currently in talks with relevant Indian agencies to undertake the job,'' the ASSOCHAM Chief said.

The move is significant and essential for boosting the confidence of investors and for providing transparent and rapid expansion of financial services as a focus of future trade relations between India and the US would be more driven towards the services.

In a bid to expedite and quickly gain out of the business commitments made in Texas, particularly in the field of BPO and LPO, the chamber would be hosting a 100-member business delegation from the US in October this year, to further carry forward this initiative in other areas to strengthen Indo-US business relationship.

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