The ongoing integration of stock exchanges in the East African Community (EAC), which includes adopting a mutual, modern technological system that will meet different market needs, is on track, Pierre-Celestin Rwabukumba, the Chairman of the East African Securities Exchange Association (EASEA) has said. This was during EASEA’s 30th consultative meeting at the Lake Kivu Serena Hotel, Rubavu on Friday that brought together exchanges chiefs from Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Rwabukumba said, once complete, the Capital Markets Infrastructure (CMI) project undertaken by the EAC states will boost the foundations for the regional integration of the capital markets by attracting more global capital flows and increased trading participation. “We have tasked the EASEA Technical Committee to fast track implementation of the CMI which will provide new possibilities for investors seeking cross-border trade opportunities,” he explained. The initiative comes on the back of increased automation and interconnectivity across all stock exchanges in the region. The Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE), on its part, is in the final stages of automation of its trading infrastructure, which will automatically be linked to the Central Securities Depository (CSD) and Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) at the Central Bank of Rwanda. Aside from the CMI project, the members also agreed to host an East Africa Capital Markets open day in May 2019 to showcase the investment opportunities in the East African region and conduct a Governance Risk and Compliance training in September 2019 to enhance the capital market players capacity across the region under the Securities Industry Training Institute (SITI East Africa. EASEA was established in 2010 with the primary objectives of promoting the growth and development of capital markets in the East African Community in particular and Africa in general and fostering mutual assistance and cooperation, including the sharing of information among member states. The EASEA secretariat adopted several strategic initiatives as they look to develop a five-year strategic plan; namely increase the product offering of each market, capacity building of market intermediaries, continuous public education and awareness campaigns and supporting integration of market infrastructure i.e. trading platforms and depository interface. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
