GMEX to Launch International Commodities and Derivatives Exchange Platform (MINDEX) in Mauritius

Hirander Misra, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GMEX Group
Hirander Misra, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GMEX Group

London-headquartered GMEX Group, a global provider of multi-asset exchange trading and post-trade data technology and solutions has announced that it will launch a Mauritius based International Derivatives and Commodities Exchange (MINDEX) ecosystem.

As per the company statement, MINDEX will be a multi-commodity and derivatives exchange platform and will come under the regulatory purview of Mauritius Financial Services Commission. The MINDEX ecosystem was initially announced in the National Budget 2016/2017, and the GMEX Group led private consortium has been targeted and facilitated by the Economic Development Board of Mauritius (EDB) to launch an exchange in the island nation.

MINDEX Holdings Ltd. was formed in 2017, with participating companies includes GMEX and Five Rings Commodities SA, an independent gold trading house based in Luxembourg. The initiative was supported by the Department for International Trade and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK government. The project includes the building of gold refinery, secure vault, launching an advanced technologically enabled OTC spot exchange, derivatives exchange and advanced real-time central counterparty (CCP) clearinghouse. GMEX is leading the consortium with project amounting to $35 million. MINDEX is expected to start operating in Q4, 2018 and will aim to become the hub for African Trade to include:

  • Digitalised gold buying and selling on exchange-based firmly on physical assets underpinned by Blockchain technology;
  • Gold pre-financing, digitalised borrowing and lending against electronic receipts;
  • Highly secure digital and physical gold settlement and custody;
  • Derivative contracts on gold and subsequently other precious metals, FX and agricultural products.

Hirander Misra, CEO of GMEX Group and Chairman of MINDEX commented:

“The MINDEX ecosystem will become a trusted hub for ethically sourced gold from Africa, which will lead to job creation, GDP growth and International Financial Centre (IFC) development not only in Mauritius but also result in increased local investment, cheaper access to finance, more output, additional tax revenues and an increase in export income for African gold origination countries. This will result in an increase in national GDP and act as the catalyst to develop interlinked financial centres across Sub-Saharan Africa resulting in increased inter-Africa trade and internationalisation.”

Charles Cartier, Chairman of the Economic Development Board said:

Economic Development Board of Mauritius“The setting up of the MINDEX ecosystem in Mauritius will deepen the depth and breadth of our offering in the capital markets segment. It will not only fill in the current vacuum that exists in the derivatives area, but it will also provide international investors with sophisticated instruments for hedging risks, such as currency and foreign exchange, when investing in the African Continent. MINDEX is in line with the Government’s vision of encouraging higher value-added services in the Mauritius International Financial Centre (IFC), notably for mitigating risks and enhancing efficiency for investments in Africa and other emerging markets.”

The MINDEX project is expected to boost the Mauritius economic activity and the project will help in increasing real GDP growth of the country to 4.1% from the earlier estimate of 3.9%. The project will also benefit the UK economy with profit back to the UK is estimated at £100 million. with forecast of job creation over the five year period.