Singapore Exchange (SGX) expects to start options contracts on the 50-stock Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), as well as derivative products, on other NSE indices in the coming year, it said in a joint statement with NSE.

SGX has already obtained licensing rights from India Index Services & Products (IISL), a joint venture between NSE and Crisil, for the new product range, including derivative contracts on the CNX Nifty Junior, CNX 100 and CNX Midcap indices.

At present, SGX offers trading in only Nifty futures contracts, which were launched in September 2000. Total trading volume in Nifty future contracts traded on the SGX stood at 71 lakh contracts in 2009, representing a daily average of 29,524 contracts.

SGX also lists four exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to Indian equity indices — the db x-trackers S&P CNX Nifty ETF, iShares MSCI India ETF, Lyxor India S&P CNX Nifty ETF and Lyxor MSCI India ETF.

These four ETFs had combined assets under management of $782 million at the end of 2009.

The decision to offer these new derivative products has come amid a sharp increase in the trading of India-related products on SGX and elsewhere as the country’s economy continues to be one of the fastest growing in the world, SGX said.

“This will complement our present offerings and bolster SGX’s position as a one-stop gateway for international market parti­cipants to manage their Indian investment, trading and hedging needs,” said Magnus Bocker, chief executive officer of SGX.

The addition of these new derivative products is subject to relevant regulatory approvals, the Southeast Asian exchange said. “Index derivatives based on the Nifty have been very successful both in India and in Singapore over the past few years,” said Ravi Narain, managing director and chief executive officer of NSE.

In 2009, total trading volume of Nifty-linked futures on NSE stood at 16.7 crore contracts, while that of Nifty-linked options was 32.1crore contracts.