The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE), and the Central Securities Depository Botswana (CSDB) will host the 27th meeting of the Africa Middle East Depositories Association (AMEDA) on the 11-12 April, 2018 at Cresta Mowana Safari Lodge in Kasane.
Hosting this meeting is a huge achievement for the BSE and Botswana as a whole as it will be the first time that the AMEDA meeting is held in Botswana.
“This, therefore demonstrates our prowess and our commitment to building a world class securities exchange as about 28 full members and 8 affiliate members of AMEDA from about 32 countries around the world will descend on the tourist town of Kasane for the meeting,” said Thapelo Moribame, BSE’s head of Market Development.
She said the AMEDA meetings are dedicated towards the review of the association’s financial performance, as well as conducting workshops on the relevant topics that impact the operations of the Central Securities Depositories in the AMEDA region.
AMEDA is a non-profit organisation comprised of Central Securities Depositories and Clearing Houses in Africa & the Middle East and was formed for the benefit of its member community, as an elective, inter-professional and regional facility geared towards fostering the spirit of cooperation, reciprocity and harmony among members. Its main purpose is to provide a forum for the exchange of information and experiences among its members in a spirit of mutual cooperation.
The CSDB, a 100% owned subsidiary of the BSE was established in 2002, and joined AMEDA in November 2012. The CSDB maintains the Central Securities Depository System, an electronic security register maintained in its capacity as a transfer secretary to all listed companies. The CSD system has 9 participants; 4 brokers, 3 custodian banks and 3 Market Makers.
The system records holdings in the clients’ accounts for the following financial instruments; equities/shares, bonds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). The CSDB has achieved 100% dematerialisation, which is the conversion of physical records of investments into electronic records. The number of accounts opened by investors (excluding joint accounts and multiple registrations) as at 31 December, 2017 stood at 80,641.