GSE moves to make investors in the securities market more secured

On August 15, 2021, 9:00 AM

The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has hinted that it would soon introduce enhanced guidelines to streamline the activities of market makers and brokerage firms in the securities market.

The move is to ensure that the operations of market makers (individuals or firms that provide liquidity and depth to markets and profit from the difference in the bid-ask spread) and brokerage firms results in investors being more protected.

Speaking at the launch of the platform, the Managing Director of GSE, Ekow Afedzie, said, “as an Exchange we are going to be developing guidelines for market making. It is important to develop guidelines in order to protect investors.”

He explained that, “it is not every broker who can qualify to become a market maker, and at the same time, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also came out with other requirements that you need to have in order to do other things apart from the normal brokerage.”

He indicated that the Exchange, together with SEC would be working with each other to ensure the development of the framework and its implementation, adding that, it would be a ‘game changer’.

Mr Afedzie, maintained that the operationalisation of the guidelines would support and provide liquidity on the market, thereby making investors more secured in the securities market.

He also made some remarks about the ‘Tradelive,’ an electronic trading platform developed by IC Securities that allows market trading through trading a web portal and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) system.

According to the GSE MD, the platform would enhance the ease of trading, as it aligns with the exchange’s strategy of collaborating with financial technology (FinTech) and Licensed Brokers to develop platforms for investors to trade electronically.

“The platform is expected to boost the daily trading of IC Securities customers, as they will be able to trade securities directly from any mobile device,” the MD said during the virtual launch.

“With a rise of a tech-savvy generation, the Tradelive platform should attract an entire generation of active investors to build the right savings and investment culture that is much needed in the capital market industry to support its growth,” he added.

He then commended IC Securities for the initiative, and encouraged other brokerage firms and players in the industry to develop more e innovative tools to support the development of the capital market.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IC Securities, Ghana, Kwabena Osei-Boateng, said, the platform would provide investors the opportunity to trade conveniently, and safe, while reaching of millions of Ghanaians who hitherto would have not had the opportunity to engage on activities on the market.

He expressed gratitude to MTN and GSE, saying, “we are truly grateful to MTN and the GSE for their unwavering support as we developed and sought authorization for this innovative product.”

At the virtual launch of the event, there saw a demonstration of the new product, which can be accessed via www.wealth.ic.africa or on the MTN Mobile Money platform.

Story By Francis Ntow