News and developments on African capital markets: African securities, African stock exchanges, African equities, African bonds, African private equity/venture capital, and African social impact investment. Twitter @africancapital, LinkedIn African Securities Exchanges group.
Blockchain technology can revolutionize trading in derivatives, fix inefficiencies and cut costs of trading if there is more standardization. Barclays Bank is one of the key champions and yesterday (26 April) spoke out at the annual meeting of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA).
Another floor of shouting traders has just closed in New York, after CME Group closed its open outcry trading pits in New York. Trading pits continue in Chicago but much reduced. Securities exchanges used to heave with drama, excitement, noise and emotion, gradually the computers have taken over.
The 5th Building African Financial Markets (BAFM) capacity-building seminar is coming to the Nigerian Stock Exchange Event Centre in Lagos on 28-29 April, organized with the African Securities Exchanges Association.
The JSE-owned derivative central counterparty (CCP) JSE Clear has been recognized by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
Nigeria’s booming fixed interest and currency securities exchange FMDQ OTC Plc (“over-the-counter”) recorded market turnover of NGN93.9 trillion ($471.7 billion) for the 8 months to 31 August.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange is working to launch a derivatives market, including product and contract specifications, and public education, following the news on 19 Dec that the Capital Markets Authority granted a provisional licence and approved the NSE’s Derivatives Exchange Rules
The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, and the African Development Bank are to work together to facilitate local currency lending and bond issuance in Africa. They signed an ISDA Master Agreement for this.
A new securities exchange in Lusaka, BaDEx (Bonds and Derivatives Exchange Zambia) is installing tried-and-tested bond and derivative trading software from South Africa’s STT Software, which supplies the JSE, and says it will be ready to launch operations next month, May 2012. BaDEx trading platforms will include spot and derivative trading in bonds, currency, commodities (such as derivatives on metals and silo certificates on the spot market) and a variety of other derivatives including agricultural commodities, precious metals, equity and energy.
The JSE will introduce its third wheat futures contract, with a cash-settled contract based on hard red winter wheat, referencing the Kansas City Board of Trade’s benchmark settlement prices. The contract will be introduced on 28 March with expiry dates in July, September, and December 2012 and March 2013.
PLUS Markets, a British-regulated investment exchange for trading the shares of small companies, has put itself up for sale on 3 Feb.