SHCIL to bring Net trading for UAE NRIs

Stock Holding Corp of India Ltd (SHCIL), India's largest depository participant, is chalking out ways to expand the facilities of Stockdirect, the Net trading arm, to reach Non-Resident Indians in the UAE.

"We plan to bring net trading to the UAE market. The kind of systems which are in place and the professionals we have, will certainly attract NRIs in the UAE who have cooperated with us all along," said B.V. Goud, CEO and managing director, talking to Gulf News from Mumbai.

It will thus become among the first major institutions to offer such services; ICICI also has Net trading facilities in the UAE, there are numerous other smaller players offering similar services.

Net trading has come a long way in the Gulf which boasts numerous high networth NRIs. Financial analysts feel SHCIL's entry can make a lot of difference in Net trading activity, given the sheer size and reputation the corporation enjoys in the International financial services market.

SHCIL has a tie-up with Oman International Bank (OIB) for Net trading there. As plans stand today, it will either go for a tie-up with a bank or seek the NRIs aspiring to go for online trading, to open an account with SHCIL itself as 'purchase advances'.

According to Guruswamy, vice-president, Elfina Financial Investment Consultancy, the corporation's sole franchisee in the UAE, it is seeking ways to tie up with a leading Indian bank in order to support net trading: "Negotiations are on and the deal is close to materialising."

SHCIL, which has sold the 8.5 per cent Government of India relief bonds in excess of Rs10 billion, also markets various mutual funds and is into private placement in a big way.

The corporation, which had only four offices in India in 1998, now has 130 offices across the country and franchisees operating from four locations in the Middle East including the UAE. Over 6,000 NRI clients deal with it regularly.