Reports of shilling’s performance to go electronic

Thomson Reuters, a global provider of financial information, will from this week deliver electronic reports on performance of the Kenya shilling.

The organisation will operate currency benchmarks for the unit, the Ghanaian cedi and the Zambian kwacha, beginning a process that will see the benchmarks move from a manual telephone-based system to an automated analysis, ensuring integrity and transparency of the rates.

“This is based on increased investor interest from the offshore into these markets who want to better understand performance of the currencies of respective countries.

“What they are trying to cover is an information gap that exists in the currency market,” Citibank head of markets Ignatius Chicha said.

Currently, there is reliance on manual reporting on the performance of currencies where data is collated from market participants. The Thomson Reuters platform will, however, provide a fully-auditable record of submissions.

The firm will provide the information through its subsidiary Thomson Reuters Benchmark Services Limited to enable local and international investors track performance of currencies of respective countries given increasing investor interest in those markets.

SEAMLESS FLOW

The currency benchmark is expected to contribute to a seamless and efficient flow of data among the African countries and their global trading partners, easing trade activities.

“These three global-standard benchmarks are integral to the development of three of Africa’s most exciting economies,” Thomson Reuters head of financial and risk, Africa, Sneha Shah, said.

“Kenya is the major trading hub for East Africa; Ghana is growing in the west and Zambia is a country to watch in the south with exciting developments in its commodities and derivatives markets,” she said.