MarketAxess Disrupts Fixed Income: Now Trading Indian Govt Bonds Electronically

Wall Street''s bond-trading dinosaurs just got served another extinction notice.

MarketAxess—the platform that''s been digitizing fixed income since dial-up—just flipped the switch on electronic trading for Indian government bonds. No more fax machines, no more shouting across trading desks. Just clicks.

Why This Matters

India''s $1 trillion sovereign debt market—the last major frontier for electronic bond trading—just got dragged into the 21st century. Institutional investors can now bypass Mumbai''s old-boys network and trade rupees like they trade euros.

The Cynic''s Take

Another asset class gets commoditized. Another group of middlemen start polishing their resumes. But hey—at least now hedge funds can lose money on Indian bonds at algorithmic speeds.

MarketAxessHoldings Inc., the operator of a leading electronic trading platform for fixed-income securities, announced the launch of the first fully electronic trading solution for Indian Government Bonds (IGBs) for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs).

International investors will, for the first time, be able to trade IGBs electronically alongside 29 other local currency bond markets already available via the MarketAxess trading platform. The new solution will provide both FPIs and market makers with an enhanced trading experience throughout the entire trade lifecycle.

“We’re delighted to be the first platform to be able to bring this new trading capability to international investors. By integrating directly with the NDS-OM system operated by the Clearing Corporation of India Limited, our solution is designed to increase efficiency across the entire trading workflow, from pre-trade allocation to post-trade reporting,” said Riad Chowdhury, Head of Asia-Pacific at MarketAxess. “Global emerging markets are well-positioned for increased innovation and international investment—as evidenced by India’s recent addition to notable global EM indices—and we are excited to support both with this launch.”

In 2024, MarketAxess reported annual trading volumes of nearly $860bn for its Emerging Markets business. MarketAxess has also been recognized as the ‘Best Secondary Market Trading Platform for Emerging Market Bonds’ by Global Capital for the past two years.

For more information on the IGB trading solution and its availability, please visit: https://www.marketaxess.com/trade/emerging-markets

Source: MarketAxess