From East Africa Business Week

The Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) has for long tinkered with the idea of introducing online securities trading.

Now, there is a parallel market in the offing that could shift the market dynamics with the possibility of a friendlier mode of trading.

ALT Xchange Ltd (ALTX Uganda) recently announced its intention to operate a securities and derivatives market, initially in Uganda, to service the East African region. ALTX Uganda will be a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mauritius-based ALTX Africa Group Ltd, and has already received approval from the Capital Markets Authority of Uganda to operate a securities exchange in Uganda.

Joseph Kitamirike, who incidentally happens to be the most recent Chief Executive Officer of the USE is the CEO of ALTX Uganda.

The USE has for long been stuck on equities and bonds and ALTX now offers alternative investment options that the USE was taking long to adopt.

But are Ugandan investors ready for such a market?

“If he pioneers other instruments like derivative and currency features, then he can start by target marketing to a certain class of elite persons and once they adopt, the ordinary Ugandan will be convinced,” says Innocent Obilil, a stock market expert in data vending.

ALTX intends to develop a pan African footprint, providing a set of additional operating exchanges to facilitate both trading and clearing across the continent.

At the end of last week, the USE announced that starting today (Monday August 11, 2014) the bourse is amending its dealing spread sheets.

“In a bid to boost market activity and liquidity at the bourse; the Governing Council of the Uganda Securities Exchange and Capital Markets Authority have amended the dealing spread from 5 UGX to 1 UGX,” read a communication from the USE signed by Innocent Dankaine, the acting Chief Executive.

Read more at East Africa Business Week