Skip to main content

Relaxed Currency Derivatives Norms to Bring More Arbitrage Opportunities

Relaxed Currency Derivatives Norms to Bring More Arbitrage Opportunities
Move likely to deepen domestic currency market and make it more popular among overseas investors
Easier currency derivative rules have helped traders exploit the opportunities of arbitrage between rates in the overseas options markets and those back home.
In effect, the arbitrage is helping deepening the domestic currency market, which is increasingly becoming a preferred destination for overseas investors.The option premium, or the cost of insurance against volatility, is about 50 basis points less than the offshore market across various currency pairs – the rupee-dollar, rupee-pound, rupee-yen, and the rupee-euro.
“Arbitragers have found a new destination – the options market,” said Anindya Banerjee, currency analyst at Kotak Securities. “With more space available, they are now betting between the offshore and domestic exchange traded options markets. This will help deepen the currency derivative market in line with developed markets.”
Earlier in March, the authorities allowed global investors to take long (buy) or short (sell) positions up to $100 million from $15 million earlier in the exchanged traded currency derivative market that include both futures and options.The mechanism operates as follows: Going by the current market condition, the option premium is at 1.5% of the underlying value for a two-month option contract. Traders would buy it in the domestic exchange platforms only to sell in the overseas options market, which is quite active among foreign banks dealing in the rupee. The offshore market, popular among institutional investors, offers a premium of 2% and yields a 50-bps gain.
Currency option is like an insurance contract where one pays only the premium. In case of selling, one just pays the margin money just like in the futures market as the risk to the option seller is unlimited.“As and when companies discover an opportunity for zero-arbitrage, whether it is locally or overseas or between the both, they go for it,” said KN Dey, founder, United Financial Consultant, a forex advisory firm.
The Economic Times, New Delhi, 19th April 2018

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Data storage norm splits digital payments industry

Data storage norm splits digital payments industry  India’s nascent digital payment industry could be thrown into disarray due to the demand by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that all user data be stored within the country, fears an industry grouping, which has termed the decision as “heavy-handed”, even as others, including the country’s largest digital payment provider Paytm, have hailed the move.  In a bid to narrow the growing schism, the industry is planning to send a formal representation to the regulator highlighting its concerns, a top official told ET.  “We are trying to build a consensus on the issue," said the person adding that the representation to the central bank will be ready this week.  RBI on April 6, mandated all payment companies—global and local—to set up data storage facilities within India by October. The stringent six-month deadline has attracted the ire of several sections of the industry that fear it will lead to a disruption of wel...

Offer’s for all of you

Great Bumper Dhamaka Offer’s for all of you... It's Time to see your Business Online, WebeCreator Offer Website Designing with domain & Email @ nominal charges. For a year For More information visit us http://goo.gl/KlpppF call on 9890151261/9773197533  drop a mail to sales@webecreator.com

Sebi to finalise options in commodities today

The Commodity Derivatives Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) will meet on Friday with senior officials of the latter, to give a final shape to the rules on options trading in commodity futures, beside revising the warehousing norms to ensure good delivery on settlement. The decision taken, after discussing with the advisory committee, will be placed before the regulator’s board, to finalise the regulations. According to knowledgeable sources, three commodities in each segment, agricultural and non- agricultural, have been proposed for introducing options. It appears commodities from the soya and guar segments are preferred in the former. From the non- agri segment, it is likely that gold, silver and crude oil will be finalised. All these These have better liquidity and both the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange and the Multi Commodity Exchange, respectively, will be able to introduce the options. In the equity segments, options ar...