“How do we become relevant to society again?” This is the challenge posed to world’s securities exchanges this morning by Ashish Chauhan, CEO of BSE India securities exchange. He told the World Exchanges Congress in London this morning (Tue) that stock exchanges that concentrate only on trading for the sake of trading are in a zero-sum game.
They should look to add value in areas where there will be gains. He sees the gains will be huge for proactive securities exchanges: “In next 20 years we will create more wealth than in last 10,000 years – will the exchange industry participate in that”.
Chauhan points out that India has 1 in 6 of world’s population but only 2% of its land mass, there are more people than Europe and USA combined and 50% of population are under 25 years old. The challenge is to create jobs and to provide the skills for employment. Exchanges should ask if that will be done by private equity and other channels, or will the exchanges be able to play a major part?
BSE India’s response is to set up BSE SME Platform. Its website “offers an entrepreneur and investor friendly environment, which enables the listing of SMEs from the unorganized sector scattered throughout India, into a regulated and organized sector.”
Chauhan says that going forward technology will change the world and India with its young population skilled in technology will be driving that change. How does each exchange solve the problems of the society it is operating in?
Europe’s integrated capital solutions to big issues
Earlier Cees Vermaas, in his first engagement as CEO of CME Europe, spoke of his vision of Europe in 2030. A centralized market and Europe-wide clearing and settlement will allow relentless pursuit of efficiency and falling costs. London will remain the financial centre, but smart networks will allow other specialist centres to grow all over Europe. This will include more exchange centres to provide funding for SMEs and for infrastructure. Exchange-linked investment into all forms of energy and will support transitions into new and efficient forms of green energy. European bond markets are only 30% of USA volumes at present but in coming years that will change fast with less fragmented bankruptcy regulatory frameworks
