Sunday, April 2, 2017

Barclays gold units off to slow trading at NSE

Barclays Kenya head of markets Anthony Kirui. FILE PHOTO | NMG Barclays Kenya head of markets Anthony Kirui. FILE PHOTO | NMG 
Trading in the Barclays NewGold exchange traded fund (ETF) got off to a slow start last week, moving only 1,100 units in two sessions at a price of Sh1,250 a unit.
NSE market data shows that the ETF, the first such instrument to be listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), registered trades only on Monday and Tuesday, when 900 and 200 units were sold respectively.
There were no trades in the last three days of the trading week for the ETF which was listed on Monday.
Barclays Kenya head of markets Anthony Kirui had said during the ETF’s launch that the firm expects the pickup of the product to be gradual, given that some of the expected investors such as fund managers still have to educate their trustees on the product so as to get approval to buy into it.
“Initially it (uptake) will be gradual, but I expect that the market will build up in time,” said Mr Kirui. The 1,100 units sold on Monday and Tuesday fetched Sh1.375 million for the issuer at the prevailing price of Sh1,250 per unit.
However given the fall in price of a troy ounce of gold during the week from $1,255.90 on Monday to $1242.10 on Friday, the price of the ETF unit was revised down to Sh1,235 per unit on Friday, even though no trade took place.
The price of the ETF is determined by the prevailing price of gold—where one unit is pegged on the price of a hundredth of a troy ounce of gold and the prevailing shilling/dollar exchange rate.
It can therefore move up or down even if there are no trades being executed, unlike the case for equities.
To start off trading in the ETF in Kenya, Barclays will act as the first market maker, availing the units to other stockbrokers on behalf of interested buyers.
These initial buyers can then trade their units on the secondary market once the initial sales reach their settlement cycle of three days.

No comments :

Post a Comment