Financial Technologies hints at shedding stake in NSEL to 26%

KOLKATA: Financial Technologies, which holds a 99% stake in National Spot Exchange (NSEL), will bring down its holding to 26% over a period of time. It will be done in a phased manner and the first dilution of 5-10% is expected to happen by the end of this year, when NSEL attains a trading volume of Rs 1,000 crore. This was indicated by Mr Anjani Sinha, MD and CEO of NSEL, on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters, Mr Sinha said that ideally Financial Technologies would like to shed stake to a corporate which is into agri commodity sector. Apart from Financial Technologies, National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation (Nafed) holds 1% stake in NSEL. NSEL has been operational for the last one year.

NSEL announced its plan to launch 15 commodities under E-series for developing a full-fledged cash or investment segment in commodities. “Commodity exchanges are generally known for providing a hedge instrument for protection against price risks. But, they do not provide an instrument for investment where retail investors can park their funds with a view to enjoy price appreciation. This initiative will pave the way for creating a niche segment for commodity market investors, who wish to diversify their portfolio by parking part of their surplus funds in to commodities,” said Mr Sinha.

NSEL has launched E-Gold and E-Silver schemes. Plans are afoot to launch spot trading in steel, copper, zinc, aluminium, guar seed, guar gum, black pepper among others. A small investor can work under SIP model and keep accumulating his holdings. “For instance, if an investor wants to accumulate gold over a period of time for marriage of his daughter, he can use this product for doing the same. Such features are not available in a futures contract,” Mr Sinha said.

With the launch of spot trading in 15 commodities, NSEL is hoping to achieve a trading volume of Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,500 crore in the current fiscal.