Moses D Pelaelo: Navigating a path between regulation and innovation for financial market development

Official remarks by Mr Moses D Pelaelo, Governor of the Bank of Botswana, at the Botswana Stock Exchange Opening Bell Ceremony, Gaborone, 1 November 2018.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Central bank speech  | 
13 November 2018

Distinguished Guests, it is my great pleasure and honour to have been able to accept the invitation from the Chief Executive Officer of Botswana Stock Exchange Limited (BSEL), Mr Thapelo Tsheole, to make a few remarks on the occasion of today's event, marking the sixth "Opening Bell" ceremony.

Let me start by acknowledging the important symbolism surrounding the "opening bell" ceremony. This refers to the signal that a stock exchange is open for business. A bell itself is only used in a few instances, notably in New York, where the current practice of ringing the bell at the start and close of each day's trading dates back to 1895, initially using a Chinese gong. But the phrase is used more generically across exchanges and, needless to say, among financial journalists.