The Abuja Securities and Commodity Exchange (ASCE) has concluded arrangements to install the e-trading software next month as part of moves to meet with world’s globalization. The Commission had traded cumulative volume contracts of 2,112 with cumulative monetary value of N39,542,194.23 for the period July 25, 2006, to July 2, 2007, in products like soya beans, white maize, white cowpea, millet and yellow sorghum.

Disclosing this in Abuja at a one day training interactive session with the media, ASCE managing director, Mr. Yusuf Abdurrahim, noted that this would ensure smooth business activities, allow buyers and sellers gain access to the Exchange’s trading system by keying in their membership codes, representative codes and passwords.

Mr. Abdurrahim, who noted that the commission would move its spot trading operations to Kano in view of its vibrancy in grains production as one of the largest producers of grains in the country with the largest grains market at Danwanau market in Kano, said, in the next few months, government policy auction will be run on the floor of the Commission.

He said the Commission had been able to put in place two markets which has in place depository system for commodities with plans to move to the futures trading, having fully established the spot trading where trading in six grains, including maize, sorghum, soya beans, sesame seed and cowpea, are being carried out, adding that the Commission would soon start with financial market with plans to move to the solid minerals sector of the economy. “From spot trading, the Commission will move to forward and warehouse receipt and eventually to futures trading”, he said.

The ASCE boss, who disclosed that the Commission had not recorded any case of default from members, said there are nineteen members so far registered, with ten being processed, adding that the trading cycles for the procedure for low income transactions is T+10 working days with 55 margin plus 2 per cent commission which are transferred to the Exchange clearing account immediately after a deal, while delivery notice is given in T+5 working days and delivery made in T+8 working days.
He said for the trading cycle for clearing and settlement procedure for high volume transactions is T+20 working days with 55 margin plus 2 per cent commission with delivery made in T+0 working days.

Earlier in her presentation, the Group Head, Management Services of the ASCE, Mrs. Zaheera Baba-Ari, who noted that the Commission was originally incorporated in 1998 as a Stock Exchange, said it began operations by trading securities in May 2001, while it was converted to a Commodity Exchange in 2001.

According to her, the ASCE, which is the only commodity Exchange in West Africa, began Spot Market Trading in July 2006, said it was established, among others, to adopt best practices agricultural production and marketing, to improve the lot of rural farmers by providing a ready market for agricultural commodities and to diversify the economy from being dependent on oil to boosting of the agricultural and solid mineral sector.