Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted Financial Technologies Group's Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX) the final approval yesterday to operate as an international commodity and currency derivatives exchange.

SMX is the first pan-Asian multi-product commodity and currency derivatives exchange. MAS granted 'Approved Exchange' status to SMX to operate out of Singapore as a regulated and licensed exchange.

SMX is a wholly owned subsidiary of Financial Technologies Group, a leader in creating tech-centric exchanges and providing trading technology solutions.

Getting a license from MAS-one of one of the world's most reputed and respected regulator-is yet another milestone for FT Group. MAS the authority to regulate all elements of monetary, banking, insurance, capital markets and financial sectors of Singapore, besides being the central bank of Singapore. The FT Group has the experience to work under 10 regulators across the globe.

Mr. Jignesh Shah, Vice Chairman of SMX and Group CEO, Financial Technologies Group, said, SMX will create a new generation international commodity and currency derivative trading platform at par with best global exchanges in New York and London. The development also stands testimony to FT Group domain knowledge and technological expertise in creating next generation financial markets. The approval from MAS is a significant milestone towards realizing SMX's vision of creating a pan-Asian exchange from Singapore, one of the world's most respected and reputed international financial centres (IFC) and the best IFC from the East.

Mr. Thomas J. McMahon, Chief Executive Officer of SMX, said, The development brings SMX a step closer towards revolutionizing the Asian commodities ecosystem. It will empower Asian economies to be price setters, facilitate the creation of premium Asian benchmarks and effectively position Asia as the centre of global commodity market growth.

SMX has announced four products, which will be traded when the exchange goes live - a Gold Futures Contract with physical delivery, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil, Brent-Euro Crude Oil and Euro-US Dollar Futures Contracts. It also recently concluded the successful market-wide testing of its electronic trading platform, risk management and clearing & settlement systems.