The trading and other processes of the Ghana Stock Exchange will be fully automated by the close of June this year, following the formal commencement of work on the project. This will replace the current manual trading system, where the brokers have to place their orders and bids on a white board during trading sessions on the floor for allotment to be done. The platform, being executed at a cost of 1.88 million-dollars, will allow trading to be done on line and on real time basis by the touch of a button. The project is expected to bring the Exchange's activities closer to international standards and put Ghana in a stronger position to compete as an investment destination, improve liquidity and surveillance of trading related activities as well as reduced risks associated with the market, including loss of certificates and impersonation among others. An earlier programme to automate the trading platform a decade ago was cancelled in 2000 because the then funding agency felt that the downturn in the economy was not going to make the project viable. Speaking at a ceremony to officially announce the commencement of work on the project, Mr Kofi Yamoah, Managing Director of the GSE, said the significant improvement in the macro-economic environment and the performance of the market made it ripe for the project to take off now. He said besides the trading platform, the Exchange had almost reached agreement with Infotech Global Limited of Pakistan, implementers of the project, to provide an automated clearing and settlement system as well as a depository. On completion of the project, Mr Yamoah said investors would be required to open a Depository account since the Exchange will discourage the use of paper certificates by investors. Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, reiterated government's commitment to the development of the capital market and cited the listing of government bonds on the exchange as a means to deepen the bonds market. Government is supporting the automation of the trading platform through the Economic Management and Capacity Building Project. Mr Baah-Wiredu challenged the Exchange, the dealers and Infotech as well as the automation implementation committee to strive to get the best infrastructure for the country and ensure that the work was completed within the stipulated 24 weeks. Mr. Naseer Akhtar, President and Chief Executive Officer of Infotech said technology was key to the transformation of the stock market. However, he said, training of stakeholders in the market was necessary to ensure that the transformation did not affect efficient performance of the Exchange. Mr Akhtar said the increased transparency that the automation process would bring along could be a major determinant in attracting foreign direct investment into the country. Source: GNA