The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) has announced the launch of Sensex Futures, the first ever Indian equity index futures contract to be listed on an exchange in the Mena region.

The new contract, which will go live on Friday (July 5) will be cleared by the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation (DCCC), said a statement from the Dubai exchange.

The DGCX Sensex Futures is a futures contract based on the S&P BSE Sensex, the blue-chip stock index of India's leading bourse, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Recently co-branded in partnership with S&P Dow Jones Indices, the Sensex is considered the most popular gauge of the Indian equity market and has high brand recall among investors. The Sensex Index tracks the performance of 30 of the largest and most heavily traded stocks on the BSE.

Commenting on the launch, CEO Gary Anderson said: "The contract is part of a planned expansion of our emerging market product offering, and will offer an exciting trading option for investors seeking exposure to one of the world's largest emerging markets."

"While the retail segment is a key target market, we are also anticipating strong interest from a wide range of regional and international investors including UNHWIs, professional traders and institutional investors. DGCX participants have already shown great interest in trading Sensex futures," he stated.

DGCX's new equity futures contract will target retail participants including non-resident Indians (NRIs) across the world, existing DGCX members focused on retail offerings, the NRI desks of banks, professional traders trading and arbitraging Indian markets offshore and large foreign institutional investors seeking exposure to Indian equity markets.

The BSE had tied up with DGCX for Sensex derivatives in October 2011, said its managing director Ashishkumar Chauhan.

"Derivatives on India Stock Indices are very popular in several overseas markets including Singapore. Trading in Indian indices has grown substantially over last decade in overseas markets," he stated.  

"This launch is a key milestone for us since it is the first time we have partnered with an exchange in the MENA region to launch an equity-based derivatives product. DGCX Sensex Futures will provide investors with an important tool for managing their portfolios benchmarked to BSE's equity indices," he added.-TradeArabia News Service