ICICIdirect.com has launched an online Futures and Options (F&O)
trading facility for NRIs. ICICI said this facility offers "safe
and secure transactions through its fully integrated trading site."
It added that the launch is supposed to provide an "exciting opportunity"
for NRI customers to create short term trading positions and benefit
from market volatility. According to ICICI, F&O will act as an effective
tool for risk management and hedging by reducing potential downside.
Apart from online trading, customers can also avail of its CallNTrade
facility. The company claims that it is embarking on a massive educational
campaign and customer empowerment programme for its NRI customers at
various overseas locations with a special emphasis on F&O trading.
Anup Bagchi, executive director at ICICI Securities said, "The
GCC region is home to a large population of non resident Indians. The
present strength of Indian community in the UAE is around 1.4 million.
It is estimated that about 33 per cent of the total population and over
50 per cent of the work force in the UAE are Indians. In Bahrain nearly
290,000 Indian nationals form the largest expatriate community. This
provides the right platform for us to launch this type of product and
focus on the GCC. We have been providing advisory and investment solutions
to the NRI community in GCC for a long time now, and it has been well
received. With the launch of NRI F&O, we are further reinforcing
our organisation focus and commitment to serve the NRI community and
GCC region and empower our customers to take educated decisions that
will enable them to maximise the benefits of investing their money".
ICICIdirect.com claims it is the leader in the online share trading
space with over 1.7 million customers and says it has a unique distinction
of catering to a wide NRI customer base from over 100 countries ranging
from the GCC, Europe, South East Asia and Africa.
