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As securities exchanges seek new products to boost liquidity and trading, a team of market experts announced backing for an exchange to trade southern and eastern Africa’s agricultural commodities. African Beef Exchange, headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana, launches today and brings together trading of a wide range of cattle and cattle products.
“We address the full range of this commodity – from savannah to sirloin” said CEO Bea Feater. “We offer cash trading and speedy T+2 international standard clearing and settlement and we will move towards futures trading along a 6 month exchange rollout roadmap.”
The ABE offers southern and eastern African countries the chance to quash arguments about which country produces the best beef. “We all know Botswana’s beef is the best in the world, except for the colleagues in Namibia, Zimbabwe and a few others. Now traders can put their money where their mouths are”, said Feater.
Key innovation is the settlement and clearing of physical commodity, enabled by a high-speed Chinese rail network currently under construction across the region. This will enable herders to “demat” the herds into specially padded train wagons for speedy T+2 settlement at kraals across the region.
The ABE is aiming to create a first in terms of sustainable energy usage and health, reversing the trend in which stockbrokers worry about their growing waistlines as they gaze at slow-moving trading screens: “We are creating a virtual trading room using advanced movement sensors and interactive technology. Traders will once again be able to trade better by rushing about, waving their arms and shouting, which will be better for their physical movement during trading hours. Our advanced system will capture the energy generated in order to provide energy for the order routing system. If you don’t move, the screen will gradually go to sleep.”
The full range of beef commodities will be traded, including futures (semen samples and calves) to post-trade in the form of ready-to-cook steaks. Interest is soaring as Africa’s top beef solutions continue to lead the cattle-loving world.
