East Africa has agreed to fast-track the unification of the four bourses via an online portal allowing cross-trading in securities.
In a joint statement the East African Securities Association through the chairman Mr Pierre Celestone Rwabumbuka urged member bourses to fast-track integration of the Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda bourses to create sustainable markets that support growth of individual economies.
The consultative meeting resolved that a regional capital markets infrastructure for trading and depository systems be fast-tracked to help establish an East African Community hub where dealings in stocks and bonds will be settled and cleared. An ad hoc committee was formed to oversee establishment of a Securities Industry Training Institute (Siti East Africa) which will ensure training for brokers and agents among other officials.
Nairobi Securities Exchange chief executive Geoffrey Odundo said NSE plans to launch a mobile trading platform of treasury bonds enabling the government to access cheap money locally.
NSE said it was upgrading its Automated Trading System to support the planned new products and service offerings.
Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (Kenya) reported that an electronic system allowing cross-trading across Africa was under formulation was under joint development by Altree Financial Services, CDSC, its Nigerian counterpart and the African Development Bank. On its part, Rwanda said it was in the final stages of automating its trading infrastructure that will see the bourse connected to a Central Depository system, the Central Bank of Rwanda and to the Real Time Gross Settlement System.
Mr Rwabumbuka said that a team had been formed to work on Bond Market Development ahead of the planned listing of government and corporate bonds.
The process for demutualisation of the Dar es Salam Stock Exchange and subsequent self-listing were underway as well as development of a mobile trading platform.
Uganda said that it had automated its systems with government bonds planned for listing soon and that it had put in place an inter-depository receipts system that enables Kenyans and Ugandans to cross trade.
The heads of the regional bourses were speaking in Rwanda Kigali in two day conference that started on Jan 20.
