Bullion exchange CEO Ashok Gautam resigns as platform struggles to grow

The head of India’s only dedicated bullion exchange has stepped down, dealing a setback to the four-year-old platform as it struggles to gain traction in one of the world’s largest gold markets.

Ashok Kumar Gautam, the first chief executive officer of India International Bullion Exchange IFSC Ltd., has resigned citing personal reasons, according to people familiar with the matter. Gautam has led the platform since its launch in 2022.

The CEO is on a three-month notice period that will end in November, said the people, who asked not to be named speaking on private matter.

Gautam did not respond to messages and telephone calls seeking comment. The exchange also did not respond to Bloomberg queries.

Gautam’s departure raises fresh questions about the future of the exchange, which has struggled to scale up since its inception. Created to provide India with a formal bullion importing channel, the bourse took nearly three years to surpass the 100-ton mark in cumulative gold trading. That’s a fraction of the roughly 700 tons the South Asian nation imports every year through other channels that include banks.

Trading volumes had slowed to a trickle before recovering briefly in April this year, after administrative bottlenecks and tax uncertainty left the bullion exchange as the only channel for importing gold into the country. IIBX’s representatives have been engaging with the government and industry groups to bolster participation, according to its LinkedIn page.

The exchange is based in India’s international financial hub at GIFT-City near Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat. Its founding owners include India’s top market infrastructure institutions, such as the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., BSE Ltd., and National Securities Depository Ltd. It is regulated by the International Financial Services Centres Authority.