NSX to implement electronic scrip
The Namibia Stock Exchange is anticipated to move towards electronic scrip by the end of this year according to its Chief Executive Officer who this week responded to queries by the Economist.
The local bourse established a steering committee in 2014 which is inclusive of all the relevant stakeholders explained Tiaan Bazuin, its chief officer. “Everyone from regulators to banks and other market participants are involved [in the process].
He added “the Namibia Stock Exchange will be moving our local securities to an internationally accepted form of tradable securities, as our current bond market cannot be invested in, due to the paper system and the cap on cheques.”
According to Bazuin, regulation nitty gritties are currently being sorted out while the steering committee is getting the buy in of the relevant stakeholders. “We are sorting out the Regulatory environment first and getting everyone’s input, we hope to have it implemented by the end of the year.”
In its latest annual report, Namibia Stock Exchange Chairman David Nuyoma calls the initiative a step towards opening Namibia’s financial markets. He wrote “many more steps are required to truly open our markets, not least of which are the formalisation of our bond market and setting up a Central Securities Depository for the trading of electronic scrip.”
“We hope by deepening the market in these projects, more Namibian companies will open their shareholder base and come to market by listing. The Namibia Stock Exchange is plagued by small size and illiquidity and can only change by adding more choice and depth” Nuyoma further commented.
Other positive developments witnessed at the bourse include the admission of a new sponsor, Merchantec Capital Namibia which is being headed by the Namibia Stock Exchange’s previous chief officer John Mandy, the dual listing of Mediclinic International Limited, PSG Konsult Limited and the listing of four Commodity Exchange Traded Funds and the adoption of NamCode by entities of the NSX but also entities outside of the NSX.
