Indian Energy Exchange believes that the recently launched International Carbon Exchange (ICX), to promote voluntary carbon market will provide a significant business opportunity for the company going forward.

The company believes that carbon credit volumes are likely to triple or quadruple by 2030 to almost 1,500 - 2,000 million units from the current 500 million units. By the same period, India is likely to sell almost 200 million carbon credits.

ICX will enable participants to buy and sell voluntary carbon credits at competitive prices through the exchange platform, enabling large corporates meet their ESG requirements.

For the December quarter, IEX reported a drop of nearly 15 percent in its overall revenue from the same period last year. Operating profit or EBITDA also fell by a similar quantum. EBITDA margin declined 100 basis points to 83.1 percent.

IEX has launched ICX nearly two years after launching the International Gas Exchange (IGX), wherein volumes grew nearly 570 percent in the December quarter to 24.4 million MMBtu. The exchange now has over 120 active clients, 37 members and saw 914 trades being executed during the December quarter.

The company believes that the development of a robust gas infrastructure along with a ramp up in gas demand will enable short-term trading of gas in India.

Among the key triggers for the gas market, the company has highlighted inclusion of natural gas under GST, implementation of United Tariff Regulations by the PNGRB, implementation of the new access code regulations among other factors.

Additionally, the company is also working with the Ministry of Coal to explore options to set up a coal exchange. The ministry has appointed a consultant to finalise a framework for having a coal exchange in India.

Shares of IEX are trading 1.2 percent higher at Rs 137.30.

(Edited by : Rukmani Krishna)

First Published:Jan 23, 2023 12:14 PM IST