India says REITs to come after currency futures

SINGAPORE, March 17 (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said on Monday that it was looking at the introduction of real estate investment trusts (REITs), but this will come only after other financial market liberalisation moves.

"We have received comments from market players. I would say that in the timetable, that will be later than the stock lending scheme and currency futures," the stock market regulator's chairman C. B. Bhave told an investment conference in Singapore via teleconference.

SEBI in December released draft guidelines on setting up REITs in India, which would pave the way for wider participation by retail investors in the country's booming real estate sector.

Regulators are also mulling over the introduction of currency futures to help investors hedge foreign exchange risks, and a new system for the borrowing and lending of securities. (Reporting by Kevin Lim; Writing by Daryl Loo; Editing by Ben Tan)