RIL becomes Dubai Mercantile Exchange member

DUBAI: Reliance Industries Ltd has become a member of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), the first major Indian company to participate directly in the global oil futures market.

RIL became a member of DME yesterday as the 26th off floor (overseas) member. The Exchange had passed the three billion barrel trading mark in May this year and is growing fast, an official statement said.

"Having one of the world's largest energy companies choose DME as its first oil futures market is testament to the important position DME now occupies as the Middle East's premier international energy futures and commodities exchange...," DME Chairman Ahmad Sharaf said in a press release.

" RIL's membership comes at a time when, having just marked our five-year anniversary, we are continuing to see sustained growth in trading volumes," he added.

RIL is understood to be the first major Indian enterprise to participate directly in a global oil futures market, emphasising the trend of continued growth in Asian oil production.

He said this will add to DME's international membership as firms of RIL's scale, help position the Exchange for the next five years, during which the Asian oil market is likely to grow at a rapid pace.