07 July: For millions of Indians living overseas, investing in Indian markets has long been operationally complex, often requiring multiple banking and investment accounts, repeated currency conversions, trading within limited Indian market hours. While India’s growth story continues to attract strong interest from global Indians, access to its capital markets has often remained fragmented and operationally complex.
Addressing these challenges, Belong, an NRI-focused investment platform, today announced the launch of GIFT Nifty Futures trading through NSE International Exchange (NSE IX). With this launch, Belong became one of the first apps to enable NRIs and OCIs all over the world to trade USD-denominated Nifty Futures through GIFT City.
GIFT Nifty is the USD-denominated futures contract based on the Nifty 50 Index and is traded on NSE International Exchange (NSE IX) in GIFT City and is regulated by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).
It offers nearly 21 hours of daily trading enabling traders across time zones to participate in Indian markets beyond the Indian domestic trading window of just 6.15 hours. Its extended trading window allows investors to respond in real time to global macroeconomic developments and international market events without being restricted to Indian market hours.
Moreover, non-resident investors trading GIFT Nifty Futures are exempt from paying any income tax on their gains as compared to paying up to 30% in taxes on trading domestic NIFTY futures in India. Costs like Securities Transaction Tax (STT) and stamp duty are also waived off on these trades thus making it more cost effective than trading domestic NIFTY futures for non-residents.
Apart from directional trading, global investors can also use GIFT NIFTY to hedge their existing Indian equity or mutual fund portfolios without liquidating their Indian holdings.
Unlike domestic Indian derivatives trading for NRIs, which is only allowed via NRO non-PIS accounts, non-residents looking to trade NIFTY futures in GIFT City don’t need any Indian bank account and can fund their trading accounts directly from overseas bank accounts in US dollars. Positions are maintained and settled in USD, reducing the need for repeated currency conversions. Also funds remain fully repatriable in USD without any limits via GIFT City unlike NRO accounts in India.
“GIFT Nifty Futures is an important step towards making India’s capital markets more accessible for global Indians. We’ve built a digital-first trading experience that removes many of the operational barriers NRIs have traditionally faced—from onboarding and funding to trading and settlement. Our goal is to make cross-border investing simpler, more efficient, and aligned with the way global Indians live and work.” said, Ankur Choudhary, CEO & Co-founder, Belong
The launch marks Belong‘s entry into exchange-traded derivatives and represents the first step in expanding its GIFT City investment offerings. Belong’s app already offers GIFT city based Fixed Deposits and Mutual Funds for NRIs. The company plans to introduce additional exchange-traded products, including Sensex Futures via Indian INX, and single-stock futures as and when they become available over the coming quarters. Over time, Belong aims to build a comprehensive global investing platform tailored to the needs of global Indians.
Product Snapshot
|
Feature |
Details |
|
Product |
GIFT Nifty Futures |
|
Exchange |
NSE International Exchange (NSE IX) |
|
Underlying Index |
Nifty 50 |
|
Currency |
US Dollar (USD) |
|
Eligible Investors |
NRIs, OCIs and Foreign Investors |
|
Trading Hours |
Nearly 21 hours |
|
Settlement |
USD |
|
Regulator |
International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) |