African countries delay cross-border trading of securities to December

Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | African countries have delayed the cross-border trading in listed securities from October to December, Geoffrey Odundo, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), said on Tuesday.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) will provide support to link ten African stock exchanges through a digital platform, he said.

“The digital platform will enable investors to place orders seamlessly with their local stockbrokers for listed equities and debt instruments in other African countries,” Odundo said.

Odundo said that Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, Botswana, Kenya and Nigeria are some of the countries participating in the pilot cross-border trading plan which will be rolled out to the rest of the continent.

He revealed that one of the aims of promoting cross-border trading is to improve the liquidity of Africa’s capital markets by enhancing their exposure to other investors in the continent.

Odundo noted that currently, it is expensive for African investors to purchase shares, bonds and derivatives in the rest of the continent because they need to pass through numerous financial intermediaries.

“We are working on a fee structure that will provide incentives for African investors to participate in capital markets in the continent,” Odundo said.