Migration to fully automated trading on the JSE is well on track with over 200 counters already on the Strate electronic settlement system.
Brian Balkind, head of research and development at Strate, says many of Strate's critics have been pleasantly surprised by the seamless and efficient manner in which the process has taken place.
"Careful preparation is reaping its rewards," says Balkind. "And the market has started benefiting from the added security and facility of settlement that Strate has brought to those counters."
The JSE now has 247 counters on the system and Strate management believes this places it well within its target of full integration by the beginning of next year.
Once a counter falls under the electronic settlement umbrella, the shares in question must be dematerialised before they can be sold.
Harmony, the first company to go the Strate route, boasts a 95.7% dematerialisation rate for its options, part of a pattern Strate has isolated and used to promote early adoption.
Monica Singer, Strate CE, says there is a 57% saving per trade settled under the electronic system.
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