GSE Plans to Introduce Fully Automated Trading

Ghana's stock exchange will move to a fully automated trading platform by September as it seeks to boost volume and liquidity, General Manager Ekow Afedzie said.

The Accra-based bourse will use a $2 million grant from the World Bank to build a computerized platform able to settle trades on the same day, Afedzie said in an interview on July 25. Trading on the exchange is currently done by hand on whiteboards, with purchases and sales settled the following day.

``We want to improve efficiency, try to enhance liquidity on the market and make the exchange more competitive to attract issuers and investors,'' Afedzie said. ``We're going to have a seamless flow, from trading to settlement, all the way to the depository.''

The Ghana Stock Exchange has 34 listed companies with a total market capitalization of 15.8 billion ($13.8 billion). The bourse's main All Share index has risen 61 percent since January.

Trade on the exchange is currently limited to investors in Accra and the upgrade to automated trading will enable more of the west African nation's residents to invest, Afedzie said.

``We're going to use technology to open up the market to more people,'' he said.