African countries have postponed cross-border trade in listed securities from October to December, Geoffrey Odundo, chief executive of the Nairobi Stock Exchange, said on Tuesday.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) will provide support to interconnect ten African stock exchanges through a digital platform, he said.
“The digital platform will enable investors to place orders seamlessly with their local brokers for shares and debt instruments listed in other African countries,” Odundo said.
Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, Botswana, Kenya and Nigeria are among the countries participating in the pilot plan for cross-border exchanges which will be extended to the rest of the continent, he noted.
He revealed that one of the objectives of promoting cross-border trade was to improve the liquidity of African capital markets by increasing their presence to other investors on the continent.
Currently, it is expensive for African investors to buy stocks, bonds and derivatives from the rest of the continent as they have to go through many financial intermediaries, Odundo noted.
“We are working on a fee structure that will incentivize African investors to participate in capital markets on the continent,” Mr. Odundo concluded.
