- March 7, 2023
- Posted by: AITRC 2
- Category: News
Cross-border securities transactions across African capital markets received a significant boost at the weekend as GCB Bank Plc, Ghana’s first indigenous bank, performed the first set of trade transactions.
Over the weekend, GCB Bank Plc, the first indigenous bank in Ghana, performed the first cross-border securities transactions across African capital markets, which significantly boosted such transactions. The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and Pan African Payments Settlement System (PAPSS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last week to integrate their payment systems into the capital market, and this has facilitated the transactions.
According to data, GCB Bank Plc processed its first set of transactions at 15:54.3 and 16:22.9, with a total worth of N120,500.00 received by Stanbic IBTC. The receiver amount stood at 2,482,462.92, and a fee of 110.18 was charged.
The CEO of NGX, Temi Popoola, remarked that integrating PAPSS into the cross-border capital market framework will address currency convertibility issues, reduce costs, shorten processing and settlement time, and improve access to capital. Popoola observed that although the continent has a growing number of financial institutions that can offer cross-border trading, there are still challenges with trading with local currencies.
Popoola expressed hope that the success of this partnership would inspire other African nations to integrate with PAPSS, thus enabling other member countries to benefit from improved efficiency. He added that NGX’s partnership with PAPSS is a step towards developing Africa’s capital markets, and the exchange is looking forward to the first announcement of cross-border transactions on the payment system.
The Chairman of NGX, Abubakar Mahmoud, welcomed the partnership, stating that investors would enjoy a more efficient and cost-effective way of investing in African securities, thus promoting regional integration and boosting trade flows. The CEO of PAPSS, Mike Ogbalu III, also commented, expressing his expectations that more transactions would flow into the system, and more Central Banks would join the PAPSS infrastructure to extend the reach to millions more, resulting in a positive impact on intra-African trade.
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