India market regulator defers full launch of same day settlement

NEW DELHI (Reuters): India’s market regulator on Friday deferred a full launch of optional same day settlements, according to a press release.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said that same day settlement, or T+0, would be launched for only 25 stocks and with a limited set of brokers to test the efficacy of a shorter settlement cycle.

The regulator will review progress at the end of three and six months before deciding on a further course of action, SEBI said.

In December, the regulator proposed a phased rollout of optional same-day settlement and earlier this week said it wants it to launch by the end of March.

However, the plan has met resistance from offshore investors who say it would be costly for them and could fragment the market.