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.
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.
Telecoms, e-commerce and technology will be the driving force behind many of Africa’s coming initial public share offers (IPOs) as the continent’s telecom, media and technology (TMT) sector continues to grow fast.
Funding for start-up companies in the technology space was nearly $185.8 million in 2015, according to research by website portal isrupt Africa. More growth is expected in 2016.
Opening remarks of Oscar Onyema, CEO of Nigerian Stock Exchange and President of African Securities Exchanges Association’s at the 2015 conference, hosted by Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
All 4 Namibian stockbrokers have switched their front-end links into the local bourse to the trading solutions supplied by IRESS, a leading global supplier of innovative securities, financial markets and wealth management technology.
Electronic trading is coming to Zimbabwe Stock Exchange under a contract with InfoTech Group, and Chengetedzai Depository Company Ltd says 3 listed companies will be electronic from 8 Sept.
Africa’s 24 stock markets should learn to work together better if they are to seize high levels of investor interest, said Nicky Newton-King, CEO of South Africa’s JSE Ltd. She told an interviewer that plumbing, – technology and other links between exchanges and clearing and settlement – were more likely routes to more liquidity than trying to create a single exchange.
Months of hard work came to a climax when the Botswana Stock Exchange successfully launched its automated trading system (ATS) and now has live trading. This replaces the open outcry trading system and the aim is to make the BSE more visible and trading more efficient.
The ten stock exchanges of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are working together to increase the effectiveness of their markets. The Committee of SADC Stock Exchanges (CoSSE) has agreed to concentrate on six priority areas in support of regional moves to more efficient capital markets.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange says it will have the fastest trading system in Africa when it upgrades its trading to NASDAQ OMX Group’s X-Stream platform, with a target date of second quarter of 2013. The new system will handle a wide range of instruments.