Reliance Money acquires 15 pc stake in HKMEx

Mumbai, Oct 14: Reliance Money has acquired a 15 per cent stake in Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx) in the process of becoming the second largest stakeholder in HKMEx and the first Indian firm to acquire a stake in an international exchange.

The company will also be given a Board membership in the exchange, announced a company release pn Tuesday, Oct 14. The company has also received approval from the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) and Ministry of Consumer Affairs for acquiring 10 per cent stake in domestic National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India. It plans to up this stake to 26 per cent.

''Even as Asia has emerged as a key market for global commodities, the region does not have a strong commodity exchange. We believe that our deal with HKMEx will help us capitalise on the growing demand for commodities in this region,'' said Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director and Chief Executive Officer of Reliance Money.

''We plan to build synergies between both the exchanges thereby leveraging on the growth potential of commodity trading in India, China and the rest of Asia,'' he added.

HKMEx is expected to start its trading in the first quarter of 2009 by offering dollar-denominated oil contracts. It will also diversify into other commodities in the future.

UNI