The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is in the process of installing a new trading platform purchased from UK’s MilleniumIT for KSh110 million. NSE postulates that the new system will lead to increased liquidity by multiplying transaction volumes and attract more retail investments.
According to the management of the exchange, the new platform will lead to liquidity improvements through same-day settlements. Previously, it would take about 15 days to receive payments previously and up to three days for investors to receive their securities.
In addition, the new platform will facilitate mobile-based trading by allowing integration with third-party apps to enable investors to trade over mobile phones. NSE Chief Operations Officer David Wainaina cited M-Akiba that has shown incorporation of mobile trade attracts potential local and retail traders to the bourse. For instance, out of the 1.4 million local investors on NSE database, only 100,000 are active traders.
Moreover, the new platform will expand retail investments by allowing for multi-asset and multi-currency trading.
