As a derivative markets trading facility, PANAFEX^™ is a technologically advanced financial market, where state-of-the-art technologies play a critical role in the trading of every instrument. This section helps you to learn how PANAFEX^™ ensures that traders get the best market quotes in real-time.

Registered traders, the market makers, are PanAfrican Financial Exchange members who provide an additional source of liquidity for instruments traded on PANAFEX^™. They trade for their own account and provide price continuity and liquidity on both sides of the market.

PanAfrican Financial Exchange is a financial market where prices for tradable instruments are determined by traders' bids to buy and offers to sell. By centralizing order flow on the trading server, prioritizing according to matching algorithms adopted by PANAFEX^™, and executing orders by price and time sequence regardless of size or source, investors trade on a level playing field and are ensured the best available price.

This sophisticated market structure supports the three primary goals of PANAFEX^™:

Liquid - under normal circumstances, traders should be able to buy and sell reasonable volumes of tradable instruments at prices at or near previous trades (the market should have continuity). Under normal circumstances, there should be enough liquidity to reduce volatility, resulting in an orderly market.

Efficient - trading on the Exchange should be transacted at the lowest possible cost to the trader. Because buyers and sellers at PANAFEX^™ can trade with market and limit orders, spreads are narrowed, resulting in a lower total execution cost for small and large investors.

Fair - at PANAFEX^™, the interests of traders come first - they should always get the best price available. As a result, the market is structured to provide transparency, which means all buying and selling of tradable instruments is conducted at one location, in the open, so that all buyers and sellers have an equal opportunity to receive the best price.