Russia's RTS share market, whose dollar-denominated trading platform was once Russia's most liquid, will launch a new rouble-based platform this week to win over broker volumes, RTS officials said on Monday. The new system, RTS Standard, will offer rouble-denominated trading in Russia's 20 most liquid shares and eventually expand to include all the components of Russia's main RTS share index.
Trades on RTS Standard, to be launched on Thursday under the auspices of FORTS, the futures and options section of the RTS, will be used for the benchmark index, the RTS said. Settlement dates will be on the fourth day following the trading dates, an unusually long settlement cycle, to help participants avoid failed trades.
But participants can conduct operations with purchased securities before their physical delivery. The competing exchange, the MICEX, demands same-day settlement in cash trades. The RTS was Russia's main trading floor in the late 1990s but steadily lost volume as trade shifted to the MICEX, a competing exchange which offered rouble-denominated trade.