The World Federation of Exchange (WFE) in Its February Publication is pleased to feature a Q&A with Geoffrey O. Odundo, CEO, Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), one of the WFE’s newest members.
QUESTION:
The WFE welcomed NSE as a full member in January 2018 – many congratulations! Please tell us why it is important to be a WFE member?
ANS:
The NSE’s membership in WFE is part of our long term growth plan, as it enables us to share knowledge, expertise and best practise with global regulators and securities exchanges. The opportunity to participate in major decision making forums on policy and regulatory matters pertaining to the global capital markets, will considerably promote the development of our business and operations.
QUESTION:
Looking ahead to 2018, what are the most important regional and global trends shaping your business?
Exchanges continue to transform their businesses by adapting to the latest emerging themes in the industry. Globally, the capital markets industry is undergoing many seismic changes, with FinTech in particular proving to be a significant disruptor. Innovations such as blockchain have some of the most renowned names in the industry adapting to such technologies with a view of reducing costs and increasing ease of trading and settlement.
Another big trend that will continue to shape our business in 2018 is sustainable finance. Green finance products have been introduced in several markets and have seen tremendous growth, with green bonds and green equity indices outperforming some of their non- green benchmarks. The NSE is currently working on a Green Bonds Programme for the Kenyan market with a view of having some listed instruments in 2018.
QUESTION:
What are your key strategic priorities for the coming year?
The NSE will continue to diversify revenue streams through introduction of new product offerings such as Derivatives, Islamic Finance Products and Green Bonds.
The Exchange will promote some of its recent product offerings which include the Growth Enterprise Market Segment (GEMs), the Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs), the M-Akiba retail government bond and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Additionally, we are in the process of upgrading our Equities Trading platform to a more robust platform with the aim of accommodating the aforementioned products and enhancing our surveillance capacity.
Question:
What is your long-term vision for the exchange?
It is my vision to increase liquidity in our markets by providing investors with a variety of products and services to meet their portfolio requirements. We are working diligently on increasing the number of listings in our market, improving market compliance and corporate governance of our members and listed companies and mobilizing savings of our regional investors to the capital markets.
