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:: InfoTech inked agreement for the automation of Ghana Stock Exchange

Lahore (15th January 2008)

InfoTech, a leading System Integrator from Pakistan, announced commencement of work on a landmark project of “Automation of Ghana Stock Exchange” on a turnkey basis.

Valued over US$ 3.0M the project involves provisioning of the Trading System, Clearing & Settlement and Depository System, infrastructure and trainings along with supplementary systems and support. The agreement was signed in Accra (Ghana) in November 2007, whereas the project details were revealed by the Minister of Finance, Government of Ghana, in a ceremony held in Accra on 10th January 2008, to mark the commencement of work.

Graced by Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, the event was also chaired by Mr., Frank Adu Jr. (Chairman of Ghana Stock Exchange & President of CAL Bank), together with Mr. Kofi Yamoah (Managing Director of GSE), Mr. Ekow Efedzi (General Manager of GSE, and the Project Manager) and Mr. Naseer A. Akhtar (President & CEO InfoTech-Pakistan). Others present at the occasion included Mr. Suresh Agarwal (MD InfoTech, Singapore) Mr. Amir Raza Khan (CTO Lahore Stock Exchange) and Dr. Salman Iqbal (CEO Softech Systems, Pakistan). Event was largely attended by leading Investment and Brokerage firms of Ghana and covered by all the major TV Channels, Radio Channels and Newspapers of Ghana.

Funded by World Bank under the capacity building program for Ghana, 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. The project involves automation of Trading, Clearing & Settlement and Depository Systems together with Infrastructure, Training and Support on a “turnkey” basis. Once in production, the system will not only considerably enhance volumes of securities currently being traded (manually) but also improve market liquidity through new listings and public investments.

Award of the project happened as a result of an International Competitive Bidding Process which started in May 2007. While competing with OMX, Tata Consulting Services (India) and Millenium IT (Sri Lanka), InfoTech Pakistan’s proposal stood as the best.

Winning and successfully delivering this project will not only add a significant pride to Pakistani IT industry, but also set example and standards of collaboration within the industry. Solution is based on Trading System developed and run by Lahore Stock Exchange and the two nationwide systems, Clearing & Settlement and Depository systems while supporting infrastructure and technology components from IBM, Cisco, Oracle, Microsoft and CA.

Testimonials

“Contract with InfoTech is finalized as a result of International Competitive Bidding process, involving a detailed due diligence. Features and functionality of the systems demonstrated by InfoTech is found to be the best to suit our needs. We expect InfoTech to prove their capabilities by delivering this project successfully and well within agreed time frame.”

Frank Adu jr.
Chairman, Ghana Stock Exchange

While succeeding to wind this contract on technical and financial merits, InfoTech brings along a wealth of Institutional Knowledge and support to help GSE to build upon our experience and success of the Pakistani Capital Market. We shall go for extra miles in making this project a success and eventually showcasing it for the rest of African region. This will not only help Ghana to improve trading volumes and liquidity, but also open further opportunities for InfoTech.”

Naseer A. Akhtar
President & CEO, InfoTech (Pvt) Ltd.