Australia Pacific Exchange

Australia Pacific Exchange is a small stock exchange based in Australia.

History
The exchange began in 1997 as an exempt market operated by Austock. (An exempt market is one the Australian government exempts from the licensing otherwise required for a financial market.)

The first listing was pharmaceutical manufacturer Sigma Company. At the time it was a cooperative owned by pharmacists, and it wanted to raise capital, but an Australian Stock Exchange listing would have required the owners to give up control (under the ASX "one share, one vote" rule). Austock instead created a structure of separate investor and voting shares for them, and established an exempt market for those shares.

The Austock exempt market through its life listed 22 companies and turned over about $500 million. It included initial listings for the SFE Corporation (owner of the Sydney Futures Exchange) and SPC Ardmona, before they moved to the Australian Stock Exchange.

The exchange in its present form as a licensed stock exchange was established in August 2004 and commenced trading in January 2005. It retained the trading platform software used by the exempt market.

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, or ZSE, is a small but active stock exchange in Africa. It has been open to foreign investment since 1993. It has about a dozen members and over 65 listed securities. There are two indices, the Zimbabwe Industrial Index and the Zimbabwe Mining Index.



History
The first stock exchange in Zimbabwe opened its doors shortly after the arrival of the Pioneer Column in Bulawayo in 1896. It was however only operative for about 6 years. Other stock exchanges were established in Gwelo (Gweru) and Umtali (Mutare). The Mutare Exchange, also opened in 1896, thrived on the success of local mining, but with the realisation that deposits in the area were not extensive, activity declined and it closed in 1924. After World War II a new exchange was founded in Bulawayo by Alfred Mulock Bentley and dealing started in January 1946.


A second floor was opened in Salisbury (Harare) in December 1951 and trading between the two centres was done by telephone. Traders continued working by telephone until it was decided that legislation should be enacted to govern the rights and obligations of the members of the Exchange and the general investing public.



The Rhodesia Stock Exchange Act reached the statute book in January 1974. The members of the Exchange continued to trade as before and it became necessary for legal reasons to bring into being a new Exchange coincidental with the passing of the legislation. The Exchange dates from the passing of the Act in 1974, and is operated and regulated in accordance with it and its amendments, including 1996's Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Act: Chapter 24:18.



On independence from Britain in 1980, the Exchange changed its name from the Rhodesia to the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

Lusaka Stock Exchange

The Lusaka Stock Exchange is the principal stock exchange of Zambia. It is located in Lusaka and it was founded in 1993. Its name is abbreviated to LuSE. The market is a member of the African Stock Exchanges Association

Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres

The Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières SA, or BRVM, is a regional stock exchange serving the following west African countries:

Benin
Burkina Faso
Guinea Bissau
Côte d'Ivoire
Mali
Niger
Senegal
Togo.
The exchange is located in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Market offices are maintained in each country.
BRVM is a private corporation with 2,904,300,000 CFA francs in capital.

Mission
The mission of the BRVM is to:

• organize the securities market;


• disseminate market information;


• promote the market.
  

History
Time line Market integration by the BRVM is a political, institutional and technical success. The Bourse Régionale and Dépositaire Central/Banque de Règlement (DC/BR) were established in several phases:

• November 14, 1973: Treaty signed establishing the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) which created a financial market organized into sub-regions.


• December 17, 1993: WAMU Council of Ministers decides to create a Regional Financial Market and mandates the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) to conduct the project.


• December 18, 1996: Various preliminary activities are conducted resulting in the formation in Cotonou of Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières S.A. (BRVM) and Dépositaire Central/Banque de Règlement S.A. (DC/BR), thus marking the end of the BCEAO mandate and the takeover of project management by its own agencies.


• November 20, 1997: Union's Council of Ministers establishes the Regional Council for Public Saving and Financial Markets.


• September 16, 1998: BRVM and DC/BR begin operations.
  

Operations
The BRVM is entirely electronic. The central site in Abidjan provides securities quotation and trading services as well as regulation/issuing services.

Agents sitting at workstations in their offices or desks located in national branch offices in WAEMU countries and brokerage firms can:

• enter orders for securities and send them to the central site via the satellite network;


• consult and edit quotation results;


• consult statistical information on the BRVM and Dépositaire Central;


• distribute information.

The principles followed in establishing the BRVM satisfy the requirement for both compliance with international standards and adaptability to the WAEMU socioeconomic environment. Equal access to information and the management of investors and network access costs, regardless of the economic operator's location, are key drivers. The exchange can be described as follows:

A centralized exchange driven by orders, that is, the price of a security is fixed by matching bid and ask orders collected before the quotation.

Three weekly trading sessions with two fixings (single price obtained by matching bid with ask orders). These sessions will evolve rapidly towards daily sessions to implement:

• real-time quotation sessions;


• a spot market with a sliding transaction closing date so operators know exactly when they will have to meet their commitments. At the start, the BRVM closed transactions on D+5 (trading day plus five business days) but this must move towards current international standards, that is, closing on D+3;


• guaranteed transactions, thanks to the establishment of a market guarantee fund supported by brokerage firms to mitigate an eventual default;


• holding and centralization of securities by a central clearing house and their exclusive circulation in a dematerialized form.
  

Listing
Eligibility The BRVM has, at inception, two sections for stocks and a single section for bond loans.

To be eligible for the first section, a company must satisfy the following conditions:

• demonstrate market capitalization equal to or higher than 500 million CFA francs;


• have a net revenue margin of 3% in each of the past three years;


• demonstrate five years of certified statements;


• agree to sign a market activation contract;


• distribute to the public at least 20% of its capital as soon as it joins the exchange;


• agree to publish semi-annual revenue estimates and results trends.
  

Eligibility of a company for the second section is subject to the following conditions:

• demonstrate market capitalization equal to or higher than 200 million CFA francs;


• demonstrate two years of certified accounts;


• agree to sign a market activation contract;


• agree to distribute to the public ate least 20% of its capital within two years, or 15% in the event of a share capital increase.
  

The mandatory section-debt instruments-is accessible to bond loans, of which the total number of securities issued is higher than 25,000 and has a face value of at least 500,000,000 CFA francs.

Listing Getting listed on the BRVM is the final link in the financing chain for businesses. It is a strategic long-term decision that requires excellent preparation. A company seeking to be listed on the BRVM must satisfy the following conditions:

• be incorporated;


• sign a written agreement to distribute the information required by the exchange, especially the publication of annual statements in the official newsletter (Bulletin Officiel de la Cote) and participation in organization of the exchange;


• sign a written agreement to obey the rules and regulations of the BRVM.
  

To apply for listing on the BRVM, the candidate company must mandate a brokerage firm to assist and advise it. Once the complete application has been received, the BRVM will rule on the company's eligibility and send a copy of the application to the Regional Council of Public Saving and Financial Markets for the necessary notification. The listed company has the following responsibilities:

• manage the regulatory framework and relations with investors;


• organize annual shareholders meetings, etc.;


• inform the exchange and the public of any new fact or modification that might significantly influence the prices of its securities.
  

NB: For further information, please contact the BRVM, its national branch offices or a brokerage firm.

BRVM Indexes
Two BRVM market indexes represent the activities of stock market shares.
The BRVM Composite comprises all securities listed on the exchange.
The BRVM 10 comprises ten of the most active companies on the exchange.

Formulation and selection criteria for the BRVM Composite and BRVM 10 are based on the leading global market indexes, especially the FCG index of the International Finance Corporation, a World Bank affiliate. The formula for the indexes takes into account market capitalization, transaction volume per session and transaction frequency. Only common shares are used to calculate the indexes.

The concept of liquidity also plays a key role in selecting securities for the BRVM 10. For each one, the average daily transaction volume in the three months preceding the quarterly review must not be less than the median daily transaction volume for all securities. Transaction frequency must always be higher than 50%, and the security must be traded at least one out of two times during the three-month study period.

The indexes are automatically generated by the BRVM trading system and circulated after every trading session. The BRVM 10 is also reviewed four times a year (first Monday of January, April, July and October ), and the BRVM Composite after every new listing so it can keep pace with the growth of the Regional Financial Exchange.

MARKET INTEGRITY AND INVESTOR PROTECTION
See presentation on DC/BR
MARKET INFORMATION

Market information
Information concerning the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (prices, volumes, dividend payments, financial statements of listed companies, etc.) is available via many channels, such as:

• the official newsletter (Bulletin Officiel de la Côte - BOC) available at the end of every trading session at the BRVM head office, national branch offices and from brokerage firms;


• the Quarterly Review available at the end of every quarter at the BRVM head office, national branch offices and from brokerage firms;


• information resellers with which the BRVM has signed partnership agreements, such as Reuters, and others to be announced;


• various private Web sites that distribute market information on their own initiative.

Uganda Securities Exchange

The Uganda Securities Exchange is Uganda's principal stock exchange. It was founded in June 1997. The USE is operated under the jurisdiction of Uganda's Capital Markets Authority, which in turn reports to Uganda's central bank, the Bank of Uganda.

The exchange's doors opened to trading in January 1998. At the time, the Exchange had just one listing, a bond issued by the East African Development Bank. Trading was limited to only a handful of trades per week.

The USE currently trades Nine listed local and East African companies and has started the trading of Fixed Income instruments. The stock exchange is open 5 days a week and is a member of the African Stock Exchanges Association.

The USE operates in close association with the Dar-es-Salaam Stock Exchange in Tanzania and the Nairobi Stock Exchange in Kenya and plans are already underway to integrate the three to form a single East African bourse.

Trading
Trading takes place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays only. Trading is by use of the open outcry method. An automated trading platform is being considered.

Founded June 1997
Headquarters Kampala
Key people Simon Rutega, CEOJudy Obitre Gama, Head, Legal & Surveillance

DepartmentHarriet Kiwanuka, Head, Trading Research & Market

Development DepartmentCalvin Simon Waibale, Head, Information

Technology
Industry Finance
Products Stock trading services
Employees 16
Website http://www.use.or.ug/

Dar-es-Salaam Stock Exchange

The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. It was incorporated in September 1996 and trading started in April 1998; it is a member of the African Stock Exchanges Association. There are currently 9 listed companies. Trading occurs for less than one hour per week

Swaziland Stock Exchange

The Swaziland Stock Market is a small but thriving stock exchange. The share market was established in July 1990 by Sibusiso Dlamini, a former World Bank executive who became Swaziland's prime minister, to enable ordinary Swazis to become stakeholders in their economy. All listings are included in the sole index, the SSM Index, which is unweighted. There are a handful of listed public companies, as well as some listed government stock options, listed debentures, government guaranteed stock and non trading mutual funds.

Exchange Control approval is required for foreigners wishing to invest on the stock market.

Stockbrokers on the Exchange are licensed by the Central Bank of Swaziland and there is no regulation regarding the foreign ownership of brokers.

Founded 1990
Headquarters Mbabane
Key people Sibusiso Dlamini, Founder
Industry Finance
Products Stock trading services
Website http://www.ssx.org.sz/