Capital Markets

Same-day trading at NSE slated to start by year-end

nse

The Nairobi Securities Exchange. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The planned switch to same-day shares transactions at the Nairobi bourse is finally set to start before year end, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) said on Wednesday.

The self-listed NSE said the newly-acquired real-time trading system is undergoing regulatory approval process and is set to go live “within this year”.

The system will separate shares trading from settlement, NSE chief operating officer David Wainaina said.

The intraday trade was initially planned to start in September 2015 but that has dragged due to system upgrades and linkages by the NSE and Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC).

“The NSE will be able to conduct all the trading activities during the day and then at the end of the day, we shall forward the accounts to CDSC for settlement,” Mr Wainaina said.

“That means CDS account should be able to buy security and once they make their margin, they close their position on the same day.”

The upgraded platform, which has been configured to allow settlement of various assets and different currencies, will be second in Sub-Saharan Africa after Johannesburg Stock Exchange when it goes live.

NSE said it applied for approval of the system from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) earlier in the year.

“We have had a lot of back and forth engagements (with CMA) just to appreciate what we have submitted. We are confident that as we move towards the end of the year, they should be able to come to us with a positive response,” Mr Wainaina said.

Planned day trade for equities, following that for Treasury bonds and bills in August 2014, is aimed at multiplying transaction volumes and attracting more investors to the bourse.