BSO named first non-domestic global connectivity provider for Indian stock exchange

Just as shares on the National Stock Exchange of India International Exchange (NSE IFSC) hit a record high, the market has had to cope with increasing demand from trading firms for connectivity, and in a first for the international exchange, global infrastructure and connectivity provider BSO has been appointed as its only non-domestic official connectivity service provider.

Situated in Gujarat International Finance Tec city (GIFT city), the NSE-IFSC was launched in 2017 as a global trading platform, offering access for foreign investors, multiple products, lower trading costs, longer trading hours and all transactions traded and settled in US dollars.

It deals in Indian and global stock derivatives, index derivatives, currency derivatives, depository receipts and non-agriculture commodity derivatives. It is also permitted to trade in a range of products, including equity shares, of companies incorporated outside of India, debt securities of eligible issuers, interest rate derivatives and all categories of exchange-traded products that are available stock exchanges in FATF/IOSCO-compliant jurisdictions.

In addition, the Indian financial regular regulator has allowed foreign portfolio investors to trade in commodity derivatives in GIFT IFSC.

The exchange has become a new centre for trading in Nifty Futures & Options, INR USD and other derivatives in Asia for American and European trading firms looking for derivatives exposure linked to the Indian market. As such, it is seeking to sign up global connectivity partners to facilitate international trading firms, of which BSO is the first.

The baseline commitment by BSO is to provide low-latency connectivity to the NSE-IFSC, adding to its portfolio offering in emerging markets. The partnership with the financial market will aim to provide Asian, European and American trading firms with added infrastructure solutions helping future traders gain faster, more secure access to the Indian market via BSO’s global network.

BSO is headquartered in Ireland and has 11 offices around the world, including London, New York, Paris, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore, serving more than 600 data-intensive businesses across diverse markets such as financial services, technology, energy, e-commerce and media.

The company owns and provides mission-critical infrastructure, including network connectivity, cloud solutions, managed services and hosting, that are specific and dedicated to each customer. The company’s network comprises over 240 PoPs across 33 markets, more than 40 cloud on-ramps, and is integrated with all major public cloud providers and connects to in excess of 75 on-net internet exchanges and more than 30 stock exchanges.

India has seen significant growth in its trading activity with 8.85 billion contracts traded in 2020. As the only non-domestic official service provider to deliver connectivity into NSE IFSC at GIFT city, BSO said it was perfectly positioned to meet increased market demand and support trading firms with secure, low-latency access to rapidly emerging markets.

“The NSE IFSC is fast becoming a leading global exchange, with competitive tax structures, trading hours and increasingly impressive derivatives volume,” commented BSO CEO Michael Ourabah. “BSO will ensure firms trading via this platform receive the most secure, reliable, low-latency connectivity between GIFT city and other financial centres around the world. At BSO, we pride ourselves on our uniquely engineered international network, and our connectivity partnership with the NSE IFSC marks our pledge to connect emerging markets, such as GIFT city, with established markets around the world.”

Ravi Varanasi, NSE chief business development officer and group president, added: “We are delighted to announce BSO as our first international network carrier. BSO’s global presence across diverse markets along with its low-latency and highly resilient connectivity service will not only provide access to NSE IFSC for market participants across the globe, but it will also encourage international trading members to use this connectivity to provide trading access to their clients through the innovative Segregated Nominee Account Provider (SNAP) framework.”