The Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) has gone digital in its operations as it attempts to prevent the spread of corona virus which is threatening the country’s volatile economy.

In a statement released on their website on 30 March MSE says this is in line with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health with regards to the  Covid-19 pandemic .

There is likely going to be a reduction on trading on the Malawi stock exchange following the suspension of all in person meetings at the stock market.

MSE says it has resorted to online transactions as a precautionary measure on Covid-19.

However most Malawians do not use E commerce according to the 2019 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report which ranked Malawi at position 140 of 152 countries for least E commerce penetration.

There are also fears that government will not be able to collect enough revenue because businesses will not be operating.

Meanwhile MSE says it has put in place a comprehensive business continuity plan to ensure that the measures it has put in place should not have an impact on trading activities on the Stock Exchange