ICAP Information, part of TP ICAP, an inter-dealer broker, has launched a data package covering African OTC markets
The new product will make data captured by ICAP’s long-established South African desk available commercially to the general marketplace for the first time, including many areas for which no data has previously been available.
The information covers multiple asset classes including FX, fixed income and interest rates across a wide range of countries and regions throughout the continent, namely Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
The release is the latest output from the closer relationship between TP ICAP’s Data & Analytics and broking divisions, as the company looks to increase the collaboration between its business units and diversify its product and client base.
The information in the new offering will be beneficial to customers with exposure to the continent across a number of day-to-day activities, from the front-office, covering price discovery and accurate securities pricing, through to the middle and back offices including risk management, valuation and independent price verification.
Wayne Jackson, the director – ICAP South Africa, said, “Africa is rapidly emerging as a hotspot for global investment, with foreign investment expected to continue to rise significantly. However, there is currently a real lack of generally-available data and information on OTC activity across the continent, and what is available tends to be patchy and unreliable at best.
“Driving transparency across Africa’s capital markets will be crucial to unlocking its economic potential in the years to come. This is a very exciting step for us, and an important illustration of the broader role TP ICAP can play in the global financial sector,” he added.
Eric Sinclair, CEO of TP ICAP Data & Analytics, commented, “The initial release has been curated to cover markets and regions where we know there is significant demand. We are confident that as interest spreads, we will be best placed to provide further data sets and the package offered will evolve along with this. Our sub-Saharan African data, in particular, has long been relied upon by some of the world’s largest and most reputable financial institutions – we are confident that the data in this package will be equally valuable to anyone with exposure to these regions and markets.”
