DGCX chief Les Male reveals plans to strengthen Indian ties

The stand-out performing contract in July was the Indian Rupee Quanto futures, which recorded its best month since inception in 2005, with a total of 1,106,309 contracts traded, up 192 percent year-on-year.

And CEO Les Male told Arabian Business the exchange’s ‘jewel in the crown’ is the Indian Rupee.

He said: “The standout contract for us is the Indian Rupee against the USD. We’re the world’s largest liquidity pool, particularly outside of onshore exchanges in India. We also have a large Indian population in the UAE who are exposed to the movement of the Indian rupee.”

He revealed he is hoping to strengthen that by having a presence in the country.

“There is an argument at one point that maybe we have a satellite office in the UK or Europe, or Singapore for the Asian markets. But right now I would certainly be looking, this year, to put in a solution for India. Because it’s a relationship business. One way they’re going to build those relationships is by getting out there and meeting clients.

“There are no immediate plans to open up rep offices, but I would like to see much greater footprint from DGCX on the ground in India, certainly in the next six months.”

Male also revealed there may be potential in future to extend DGCX’s opening hours.

Currently the region’s leading derivatives exchange, which is based in Dubai’s Jumeirah Lakes Towers, boasts a staff of 48 and is open almost 17 hours a day from Monday through to Friday.

But Male says that may change in the future. “There’s a strong argument that we may have an exchange for more hours a day. We’re currently open almost 17 hours a day, if the market wants it, and if there’s a certain type of product they want, then we could well open to 23 or 23-and-a-half hours a day.

“Maybe with the Sharia products, as we already have a lot of client interest at the moment, for Sharia Gold. Obviously the Sharia working week is Sunday to Thursday so we could open the exchange on a Sunday.”