Jaitley opens London Stock Exchange in special ceremony

London: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today opened the London Stock Exchange in a special ceremony following which he discussed with investors the role of London in developing India's fin-tech ecosystem and delivering infrastructure development priorities.

The ceremony was also attended by UK minister for international trade, Liam Fox.

Following the market open ceremony, Nikhil Rathi, CEO, London Stock Exchange (LSE) plc, hosted a roundtable event with Jaitley, delegates from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), fin-tech companies and leading investors.

"They discussed London's significant role as a partner to India, supporting the country to develop its fin-tech ecosystem and deliver key Indian priorities like infrastructure development, sustainable energy investment and the growth of smart cities," an LSE statement said.

Fox described the India-UK relationship as a "hugely important" partnership.

"The UK-India investment relationship is hugely important. India is now the third largest investor and second largest job creator in the UK; the UK is the largest G20 investor in India and plays an important role in building skills in the Indian workforce," he said.

"The UK Government is committed to deepening this relationship further and in my first months as Secretary of State for International Trade, I?ve been lucky enough to visit India twice - most recently accompanying the Prime Minister on her first bilateral visit outside Europe, as well as her first trade delegation," he added.

He quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's description of the ties as "unbeatable partnership".

Rathi said: "Minister Jaitley's second visit to the UK in a year underlines the success of the business and financial partnership between the UK and India and builds on recent landmark visits by Prime Minister Theresa May to India and Prime Minister Modi to the UK.

"2016 was a tremendous year for Masala bonds in London, with the Indian corporate Masala bond market launching in London with HDFC?s landmark bond issuance in July 2016, cementing London Stock Exchange's clear position as the leading global venue for offshore Rupee denominated fundraising.

"India's growth trajectory is truly remarkable, with the highest growth rate among the G20 economies and the Minister?s Union Budget announced earlier this month will only spur this on.

"With the depth, liquidity, multicurrency and profile of London's markets, together with the UK remaining the largest G20 investor in India, London Stock Exchange is ideally suited to partner with India in this extraordinary growth story to deliver key Indian priorities like infrastructure development, sustainable energy investment and the growth of smart cities," Rathi said.

Jaitley is due to meet UK foreign minister Boris Johnson for talks later in the day.