FTSE is a multi-award winning index company operating from a number of financial centres worldwide. It is jointly owned by The Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange.

Under the terms of this agreement, MCX-SX and FTSE will work together to create new domestic index products for India, as well as bring a set of international FTSE indices to MCX-SX, which will facilitate the creation of international investment products to be listed on the MCX-SX in India, after completion of regulatory compliances.

FTSE will also extend the cooperation for index development to Financial Technologies Group's other domestic and international exchanges like the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX), Singapore Mercantile Exchange (Singapore), Bahrain Financial Exchange (Bahrain), subject to respective regulatory approval.

These indices can be used extensively by a range of financial professionals such as fund managers, investment banks, consultants, asset owners, private investors and brokers for the purpose of investment analysis, performance measurement, asset allocation, portfolio management, ETFs and creation of index tracking funds.

The cooperation agreement was signed in the presence of Mr Jignesh Shah, Vice Chairman, MCX-SX, Mr Donald Keith, Deputy Chief Executive, FTSE Group, Mr Joseph Massey, MD & CEO, MCX-SX and Mr Paul Hoff, MD, Asia Pacific, FTSE Group.

Going forward, FTSE and MCX-SX will agree to create a set of FTSE global indices which will be licensed to become the basis for futures contracts on MCX-SX in India subject to regulatory clearances. The partnership will also create a new jointly developed index series which will offer domestic as well as global investors new opportunities to track, analyze and invest in India's dynamic financial markets.

MCX-SX and FTSE's aim is to bring a broad range of domestic and international index products to the Indian financial services sector, which can then be used as performance benchmarks and as a basis for financial products such as institutional and retail funds, exchange traded funds, and derivative contracts.

Mr. Donald Keith, Deputy Chief Executive, FTSE Group, said, "FTSE is proud to be selected by MCX Stock Exchange as its index partner. This alliance will leverage FTSE's brand and award winning index methodology in global indices with MCX-SX's knowledge of Indian financial markets. We look forward to working alongside the MCX-SX team to bring a suite of indices from international markets to India, and also to creating new indices to reflect the Indian market."

FTSE has extensive experience in partnering with stock exchanges globally to design and calculate a range of domestic, as well as global, indices. These exchanges include Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Johannesburg, Italy and London.

Mr. Joseph Massey, Managing Director & CEO, MCX Stock Exchange, said, "Our partnership with FTSE will harness MCX Stock Exchange's in-depth understanding of the Indian financial markets to jointly design and introduce a range of indices which will meet the needs of the market participants. These indices will allow the market participants to take a view on global growth, manage sectoral as well as global risks. We are delighted to be working with FTSE on this important development. Through our deep domain knowledge of Indian financial markets and FTSE's expertise in creating global indices, we aim to help Indian investors make informed decisions through efficient and global benchmarked products.