KAMPALA, May 9, 2024 – Standard Chartered Bank Uganda [BoU] has been awarded the ‘Best-performing Primary Dealer Market Maker [PDMM] for the year ended September 2023, earning the honour for the second time, since the inception of the awards 19 years ago.
According to the BoU Deputy Governor Michael Atingi-Ego, Standard Chartered exemplified its market-making role through consistent pricing on the E-bond platform, active auction participation, trade reporting on Bloomberg, and contributing to overall market liquidity.
“Standard Chartered exemplified its market-making role through consistent pricing on the E-bond platform, active auction participation, trade reporting on Bloomberg, and contributing to overall market liquidity,” said Atingi-Ego, recognising the lender’s valuable contribution to developing Uganda’s securities market.
The PDMM system, launched in 2005, aims to enhance the government securities market by improving liquidity, pricing efficiency, and secondary market trading activity. And according to Atingi-Ego, Uganda secured 4th place this year on the ABSA Africa Financial Markets Index due to its ongoing financial market reforms.
He said the PDMMs play a crucial role through their commitments as market makers and participation in primary auctions. “I congratulate the current PDMMs – ABSA, Centenary, Citi, DFCU, Equity, Housing Finance, Stanbic, and Standard Chartered Bank on their appointments for the 2023-2026 term. We welcome Citibank and Equity, the newest PDMMs,” he said yesterday at BoU head office in Kampala.
He was speaking during the ceremony held to recognise the performance of PDMMs in Ugandan government securities for the year ending September 2023.
He noted that for this cycle, the performance criteria weighted secondary market activity at 70 percent to further incentivise trading and liquidity. “Assessable areas included posting two-way pricing on the Ebond platform, reporting trades on Bloomberg, and transacting on these systems to increase global visibility ahead of index listings,” he said.
He disclosed that Uganda successfully joined the FTSE-Russell Frontier Markets Bond Index in July 2023 and is pursuing inclusion in others like the AFMI Bloomberg Bond Index.
He said the milestones achieved in the financial market reflect reforms enhancing market transparency, infrastructure, and product development over the past decade, stating that the secondary market turnover ratio increased from 54 percent before reforms to 157 percent this past year.
While celebrating progress, the BoU top official said are still areas to improve, including disclosure standards, leveraging the regulatory framework, and technological capabilities to elevate operational efficiency and market access.
Kelvin Musana, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer Standard Chartered Bank Uganda said the bank is committed to continue playing its part to support the development of the Ugandan financial market.
“We will continue to work with the industry and other bodies to ensure sustainable progress and prosperity of the financial market,” he said during a ceremony attended by BoU officials and various stakeholders from the banking industry.
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