Non-bank companies make first ever FX trades through direct market access

Rosneft and Alrosa have become the first ever corporates to obtain direct market access (DMA) and trade on Moscow Exchange's FX Market.

From 16 January 2017, Russian legal entities not qualified as credit institutions or professional  market participants have been eligible to operate on the currency market on the same terms with banks and brokerage firms.  

Igor Kulichik, CFO of ALROSA:

"Our admission to the MOEX FX Market will allow us to achieve greater efficiency of FX operations and minimise their costs. Clearing and settlement options offered by the Exchange are convenient and fast. I believe other corporates will also find on-exchange FX trading attractive".

Rosneft, a large and active participant of the Russian foreign exchange market, is one of the first non-bank corporations to access the MOEX FX Market through DMA. Rosneft believes that direct access to on-exchange liquidity in addition to trading on the interbank market will enhance liquidity management options for the company, considering the scale of its business and operations. Rosneft believes direct access of corporates to the on-exchange FX market will further increase its liquidity and lead to lower transaction costs as well as higher transparency, predictability and efficiency.

Igor Marich, Managing Director of the FX and Money Markets at Moscow Exchange, said:

"The arrival of a new category of clients is in line with global trends; this will boost market liquidity and allow large Russian corporations to enhance their FX operations while maintaining a conservative approach to risk management. We are currently in discussion with a number of other large corporates seeking direct access to FX trading on MOEX." 

In March the average daily traded volume (spot plus swap) on MOEX's FX Market was 28.7 bln.

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Department at (495) 363-3232.