The new futures contracts will provide the market participants with the ability to get exposure on the JSE to the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Zambian, Kenyan and Nigerian currencies through trading synthetic cross currencies. For example, investors can get exposure to the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Kenyan Shilling by trading both against the Rand. To promote cross-currency trading the JSE will charge trading fees on only one of the foreign trade logs and not both.

The JSE has partnered with Barclays Africa and specialist brokers, Tradition Futures, to bring this new offering to market.

Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has launched futures contracts for several African currencies including the Kenya shilling.

The currency futures will enable investors to protect themselves against currency volatility in other countries, at a time when several African currencies have depreciated sharply against the dollar.

The State-controlled Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) wants to team up with private investors for the first time to build geothermal power plants that would come on stream by 2016.