Standard & Poor’s today announced the launch of two real-time currency indices that provide investors with exposure to the currencies of China and India, emerging economic superpowers that currently lack a liquid currency futures market.

The S&P Chinese Renminbi Index and the S&P Indian Rupee Index are the first in what will be a series of real-time currency indices launched by Standard & Poor’s in 2008. The new indicies are designed to replicate the performance of the Chinese renminbi and the Indian rupee versus the U.S. dollar. They represent the performance of a rolling investment in three-month, non-deliverable, forward currency contracts.

“China and India are both important markets in global trade, but currently lack a liquid and accessible currency futures market,” says David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor’s. “The launch of these two new indices will provide investors with access to the currencies of two emerging economic superpowers, China and India, while also serving as a reliable and relative benchmark for currency performance. In the S&P Chinese Renminbi Index, this represents the first instance where U.S. investors will have access to a local Chinese asset.”