Derivative houses in India are awaiting accounting rules which should open the door for further market development. "While volumes continue to expand, product development has been on hold," said Srinivasan Varadarajan, treasurer at JPMorgan in Mumbai, explaining end-users are mostly piling into plain-vanilla interest-rate products and rupee foreign exchange options.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, however, is working on rules and disclosures to clarify derivative positions. The changes are expected to be implemented by year-end. Market officials said once rules are settled for such issues as marked-to-market positions, regulators will be more open to giving the green light to additional products, such as local-currency interest-rate options. International houses have been lobbying regulators in India for such derivatives as caps, floors and swaptions for the last few years (DW, 11/17/03).