
THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET: STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS 41
The Non-deliverable Forward Market (NDF)
Another market segment that is quickly picking up is the offshore non-deliverable forward
(NDF) market, which has emerged out of the regulatory controls on the currencies in the
onshore markets. A non-deliverable forward is a forward contract on a thinly traded or non-
convertible foreign currency. NDFs are cash-settled and OTC forwards. Such transactions
are settled not by delivering the underlying pair of currencies, but by making a net payment,
in a convertible currency, equal to the difference between the forward rate and the spot rate
on the ...