📰Citadel’s India Profits Surge Even as Regulators Rein In Trading | Daily India Briefing

Citadel Securities is once again proving that India remains one of the most lucrative frontiers for global trading firms Today, we explain more.

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Macro

• Governor Malhotra says India is in a neutral rate environment and will look at rates as inflation and growth change. Data released yesterday showed inflation at 1.33 percent, still lower than expected, but on a little uptick. Malhotra reinforced that India was in a rare Goldilocks Zone of high growth and low inflation.  

• The Singapore Exchange had talks with global banks about listing bond futures for India and other Asian countries.SGX is planning on offering 3-, 5-, and 10-year futures settling in dollar prices.

Equities

• General Atlantic-backed digital insurer Acko is seeking a $350 million (₹31.5 billion) IPO. The IPO is in early stages and will likely contain a mix of primary and secondary shares. Acko offers insurance for car, health, and travel among other things all online. 

• The government is pressing quick-commerce executives to end their 10 minute delivery plans.The Labour Secretary is meeting with executives while the opposition parties are also, for once, siding with the BJP. All of this is from the massive 200,000 worker strikes happening over the holidays.

Alts

• Standard Chartered will forego some credit card customers who do not deepen ties with the bank. The bank’s strategy is to build multi-product relationships anchored in wealth management and international banking. 

• JP Morgan is looking for a new head in India to run its banking division.The bank has 50,000 employees in the country accounting for 20 percent of total workforce.

Policy

• Trump's threat of 25 percent tariffs on anyone trading with Iran affects India in 3 ways. Modi will likely ban exports to Iran, but the other effects are crude jumping to $64 (₹5,760) and Chabahar port closing which is key for exports to Afghanistan and Central Asia. 

• US actions with Venezuela, Iran, and Russia are redefining India's autonomy doctrine.India, while reacting fast to Russia, will likely take its time with Venezuela and Iran as the situation keeps developing. China is also affected as Iran's largest trading partner and is improving its ties with India.

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Citadel’s India Profits Surge Even as Regulators Rein In Trading

Citadel Securities is once again proving that India remains one of the most lucrative frontiers for global trading firms — even as regulators try to cool the country’s famously speculative markets.

The market-making arm of Ken Griffin’s Citadel reported a 41% jump in after-tax profit in India for the year ended March 2025, according to regulatory filings, with revenue climbing nearly 40% to about 40.6 billion rupees ($450 million). For a firm that only began local operations in mid-2022, the speed of that growth is striking: profits have increased roughly six-fold in less than three years.

The numbers land at an awkward moment for India’s regulators. Over the past two years, the Securities and Exchange Board of India has imposed repeated curbs on equity derivatives trading, alarmed by a retail options boom that at its peak made India the world’s largest market by contract volume. Academic studies and regulator-commissioned research have shown that a vast majority of individual options traders consistently lose money — a finding SEBI has cited in justifying tighter rules.

Yet the crackdown hasn’t dented high-frequency traders nearly as much as expected. Citadel’s gains were driven by growth in both cash equities and derivatives, according to a person familiar with the business. Rivals tell a similar story. Hudson River Trading more than doubled profits in India last year, while Optiver swung to profitability in its first full year of operations.

India’s experience echoes a familiar pattern seen in markets from the US to South Korea: retail speculation tends to fade after regulation, but professional market makers adapt quickly, shifting strategies and exploiting persistent liquidity demand. In India’s case, that demand is fueled by a young, digitally native investor base and some of the lowest trading costs in the world.

Risks remain. SEBI is expected to unveil another round of derivatives reforms following last year’s trading ban on Jane Street, which the firm is contesting in court. Still, Citadel executives have made clear they see India as strategic — even exploring commodities trading next.

For now, the message is simple: in India’s markets, regulation may slow the frenzy, but it hasn’t stopped the profits.

See you tomorrow.

Written by Yash Tibrewal. Edited by Shreyas Sinha.

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