In its first, the Nairobi Securities Exchange and Uganda Securities Exchange have partnered to list Umeme shares from Uganda in Kenya, through the new Regional Interdepository Transfer Mechanism (RITM).
Umeme which is an energy company listed in Uganda Securities Exchange will boast of being the first company in Uganda to use this service.
The technology will help company looking to cross list in diferrent securities exchanges in East Africa do so, while increasing the listed businesses in the region.
Umeme Managing Director Charles Chapman said, “This is a significant milestone for Umeme and for the continued integration of the capital markets of the East African Community Member States.”
“We pride ourselves as the first Ugandan company to cross list at NSE and have trading on both the USE and the NSE. With the integration, our shareholders have a choice of where they want to trade, which will significantly increase convenience for our investors.”
In a meeting in July held in Zanzibar, the East Africa Security Exchange Association proposed that the RITM system be used to make it easy for companies to cross list. They noted that the new system will enable companies to enhance liquidity, efficiency and reduce exchange rate risks.
“Since the listing of Umeme shares, we have witnessed increased daily activity at the USE and Umeme is one of the most active counters. “We are happy to be driving the development of regional exchanges with the trading of cross-listed companies in Uganda and Kenya,” Joseph Kitamirike, the CEO of Uganda Securities Exchange commented.
His Kenyan counterpart, Mr. Peter Mwangi Chief Executive of the NSE said: “By enhancing the efficient movement of securities across the EAC region, the successful implementation of the regional inter-depository transfer mechanism is a major breakthrough for the EAC capital markets. This will benefit investors and issuers of cross listed securities such as Umeme. It gives great leverage to shareholders as they are able to decide on which exchange to trade and in which currency.”