DGCX to have the latest technology at new HQ

In an exclusive tour of the new DGCX facility, DMCC Chief Operating Officer, Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chief Executive Officer of DGCX Framroze Pochara and Chief Executive Officer of DGCX Arshad Khan described the capabilities and functionality and the implementation of top of the line technology to create an exchange that, within 5 years, will be amongst the top 5 in the world.

The new facility is divided into two sections, an isolated trading and technical area on one side and an administrative and training department on the other. This is to avoid disturbances and confusion in the electronic trading area and so administrative operations can run smoothly.

Lockers are provided outside the trading area as it is prohibited for bags and such to be taken in as to maintain security and the integrity of the sensitive information.

There is a high security monitoring room that monitors and records all trades and transactions, this room is secured via CCTV and all incoming and outgoing calls are recorded. This room is closely monitored and it is restricted to those only that have the highest level security clearance and nothing is allowed into the room or out of it as it contains highly sensitive and confidential information on daily transactions and exchanges.

Technologically advanced because of its partnership with Financial Technologies (India) Ltd. (FTIL), DGCX is fully equipped to maintain operations in any unforeseen and unexpected circumstances. In case of a power outage or failure, DGCX is wired with 3 uninterrupted power supplies (UPS's) each providing 2 hours of power, thus able to maintain the entire infrastructure for a total of 6 hours.

As a backup to the UPS's, DGCX has its own fully functional power generators.

All DGCX servers are given an individual function to ensure the fastest response times and in case of a failure the functions are automatically rerouted to other servers with no downtime experienced. All servers have their own back up power supplies, some, such as the new Stratus servers have backups of the entire server built into it, so it need not reroute anything. Stratus servers have a 99.99 per cent up time so a trader would not notice any change in their operations if functions were rerouted.

The server room is equipped with the latest fire fighting mechanism in case of a fire. The FM200 gas based suppression system is engineered to the physical attributes of the room and is designed to allow localisation of an outburst and to quell the fire in a very brief amount of time in that specific area unlike a conventional sprinkler system where water is dispersed everywhere until the system is shut down.

Among the critical aspects that set the DGCX apart from other exchanges is that a fully electronic exchange accessible from anywhere in the world where there is an Internet connection.

Initially the exchange will be operational for 5 days a week from 10am to 11pm, however that is only temporary, with in a few months according to Pochara, the exchange will be operational 7 days a week. The extended hours from 10am to 11pm allow the exchange to cover time gaps where Eastern and Western exchanges are closed and the 7-day operations allow traders and brokers to continue business without having a 2-day delay, as is the present situation.

According to Bin Sulayem, this also brings about the opportunity for arbitrage (simultaneous purchase and selling in order to profit from a differential in the price; this usually takes place on different exchanges or marketplaces).

Bin Sulayem also points out another of the advantages of the exchange is the effective regulatory structure. Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) will be the regulator of DGCX.

He claimed that price manipulation and the rigging of transactions are virtually impossible and that unlike the Dubai Financial Market and the recent Dubai Islamic Bank price manipulation scandal, there will be no cancellation of trades and there will be zero percent failure in any trade.

With everything operational and in place, the DGCX will begin mock trading sessions in October to test all equipment and processes and in November the DGCX will go live with as many contracts and commodities as traders are looking for.

Though only recently headquartered in its present location, eventually the DGCX will move to the landmark Au (the periodic symbol for Gold) Tower in the DMCC Free Zone currently under development.

The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) is a joint venture between the Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre (DMCC), Financial Technologies (India) Ltd. (FTIL) and Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX).