Safaricom is helping NSE boost trading
Safaricom will provide the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) with the technology to securely connect stock brokers at lower costs to boost shares trading.
NSE says, Safaricom’s Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) will reduce connectivity costs to the brokers by approximately 30 per cent, ensure higher uptime and performance and increase network security.
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The network interconnects the NSE, the Central depository and settlements corporations and all the trading participants in the market to offer higher trading platform availability
“We are excited to extend our range of capabilities and technology to the Nairobi Securities Exchange to empower them in their next phase of growth. This investment will provide the NSE with modern and futureproof solutions, to achieve cost efficiencies, tap new opportunities and innovate for their customers in a digital era,” Safaricom Ceo Peter Ndegwa said.
NSE is replacing the Multi-Protocol Label Switching network that has been used since 2011 with the Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) supported by Safaricom.
The Kenyan bourse hopes to increase market activity which has suffered a sharp decline as foreign investors rushed to sell off their exposures in emerging markets including Kenya.
The sell-off has also depressed prices of company stocks wiping out billions of paper wealth by Kenyan investors.
The capital markets authority quarterly bulletin shows volumes of stocks traded decreased by 24.85 per cent to 969.57 million in December 2020 compared to 1,290.12 million at the end of 2019.
Market capitalization recorded a 8 per cent decrease to Sh2.3 trillion registered in December last year from Sh2.5 trillion at the end of 2019.
