Uganda Securities Exchange launches online shares portal to entice investors
The Uganda Securities Exchange has launched a digital self-service portal for its investors which has been viewed as a way of improving convenience for its customers in their quest for information while boosting efficiency.
Individual investors both local and foreign will now be able to view real time stock performance, monitor their account balances and also view statements without necessarily using brokers.
While officially launching the ‘Easy Portal’ platform, Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) Chairman Charles Mbire said the new innovation was ‘convenient’, ‘cost effective’ and will ‘revolutionize the industry’.
The development comes a two years after USE rolles out a fully automated system for both trading and depository.
“Automation has increased out trading turn over as well as transformed in customer service delivery. This is us recognizing globalization and the advancement in technology,” Mbire told journalists at the USE head office at the Nakawa Business Park on Tuesday.
He urged for more innovations which he said will facilitate Uganda’s economic growth through investment.
The 24 hour ‘Easy Portal’ service will require user to create an account using their account numberand there after log into the system using a secure password. The dashboard includes features such as the individual counters of stocks on the market and investors’ statements for the last 6 years.
Users will also view real time market data including the movement of stocks that are listed.
The USE Chief Executive Officer, Paul Bwiso said; “One other feature this product provides is IPO application. If you have an initial public offer on the market, existing investors can log on and put in their shareholding and apply.”
According to Bwiso, the new product especially targets retail investors whose numbers on the stock exchange are still low.
“The market is still skewed towards the institutional investors. We are now targeting about 200,000 investors by placing power of investment in their hands.
Currently, the USE market has 27,000 investors and Bwiso attributed the slow activity on the market to the depreciation of the Ugandan shilling which has had an impact on the foreign investors who are the majority.
“However, we are receiving applications and a number of deals are in the pipeline,” Bwiso added.
The CEO assured the users of security of their data saying that significant investment has been put into safeguarding investors’ finds.
