I-Broker launched

THE Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) made significant gains last year in spite of the global financial crunch, with the trading of about 600 million shares estimated at GH¢350 million.
The number of shares represent twice the number traded in 2007. The index gained by 58 per cent, making it one of the best performing exchanges in the world, the General Manager of the GSE, Mr Ekow Afedzie, said at the launch of i-broker in Accra yesterday.
Operated by CAL Brokers Ltd, i-broker is Ghana’s first online stock trading and tracking platform.
The facility is expected to ensure a direct access to the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) as well as buy and sell orders among other things, following the commencement of electronic trading on the GSE.
Mr Afedzie noted that the automation of the GSE was one of the innovations which would change the face of the capital market in the country.
According to him, the stock exchange was undergoing modernisation and that the new features being introduced would bring confidence to investors.
These features included day trading which ensured the buying and selling of stocks the same day, borrowing and lending, electronic clearing and settlement system and risk management, among other things.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CAL Brokers Limited, Mr David Tetteh, said the introduction of the i-broker had enabled brokers from other countries to trade on the GSE.
According to him, the introduction of the facility would open up the local market to more investors, making trading and monitoring of stocks easier to achieve greater liquidity and transparency for the capital market.
The platform is said to have made CAL Brokers execute a greater chunk of trading on the exchange, accounting for about 61.30 per cent of the trading share.
The Chairman of the GSE and Managing Director of CAL Bank, Mr Frank Adu Jr, who launched the online trading platform, said the facility would bridge the technology gap between the local market and the developed world.
The Chief Operating Officer of CAL Brokers, Mr Patrick Kpodo, who gave an overview of i-broker, described it as the “Ghana’s first comprehensive trading platform.”