𝐈𝐅𝐒𝐂𝐀 𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐅𝐒𝐂 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has recently issued a circular to permit foreign entities, not having a physical presence in IFSC, to trade directly on the Stock Exchanges in the IFSC, on a proprietary basis, without a Broker-Dealer. Such an entity shall be referred to as a Remote Trading Participant (RTP).

The IFSCA has prescribed certain conditions for the onboarding of an RTP by exchanges in the IFSC which are as under:

(i) The entity is a resident country whose securities market regulator is a signatory to the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)-MMoU or has a bilateral MoU with IFSCA.

(ii) The entity is a member of a foreign stock exchange which have been specified in the IFSCA Circular [New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (Nasdaq), Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group), Tokyo Stock Exchange, Korea Exchange, London Stock Exchange (LSE), Euronext, Paris, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Eurex Exchange, Toronto Stock Exchange, Singapore Exchange (SGX Group), Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange – הבורסה לניירות ערך (TASE), Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX), Dubai Financial Market, Nasdaq Dubai and Euronext Amsterdam].

(iii) The entity is a body corporate.

(iv) The entity is not based in a country flagged by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for strategic deficiencies in Anti-Money Laundering or Combating the Financing of Terrorism, nor in a jurisdiction that hasn’t adequately addressed these deficiencies or committed to an action plan with FATF.

Further, a RTP shall only be allowed to undertake proprietary trading and transact only in cash-settled derivative products. The RTP shall also be required to enter into an agreement with an IFSCA registered Clearing Member for clearing and settlement of its transactions executed on the Stock Exchanges in the IFSC.

The conditions for onboarding including operational matters such as net-worth criteria, security deposit, application fee, annual fee shall be specified by the Stock Exchange in the IFSC.

A Copy of the IFSCA Circular is enclosed herewith.

Readers are welcome to send their views to Regstreet Law Advisors at info@regstreetlaw.com

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