Nairobi Stock Exchange Goes Automatic

It was a long time coming (15 years), but the Nairobi Stock Exchange switched to electronic trading on September 11. Gone are the days of shouting traders in snappy red jackets. The Automatic Trading System (ATS) is here!

The ATS allows brokers to trade via their computer terminals. Each buy and sell order is prioritized according to price and time with better-priced orders trading first.

It’s hoped that the new system will improve the market’s transparency and efficiency. But with only two trading days complete with the ATS, it’s still too early to decipher any up-tick in volume.