scholarly journals A Comparative Analysis of Weak and Semi-Strong Form Efficiency of Nigerian and South African Foreign Exchange Market

Author(s):  
Adetan, Taiwo Temitayo ◽  

Foreign exchange market is said to be efficient if all available information are reflected in its exchange rates. An efficient foreign exchange translates to absence of profitable and exploitable trends which means that it is impossible for market participants or private agents to outperform the market. This study investigated the weak and semi-strong form efficiency of Nigerian and South African foreign exchange market to determine the significance of past exchange rates in predicting the present rate which is the test of weak form efficiency and it examined the co-integration relationships between selected pairs of exchange rate to determine the semi-strong efficiency. The secondary data used in this study were sourced mainly from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin, the South African Reserve Bank Bulletin and the oanda exchange rate websites. The data used were the inter-bank spot exchange rates of Naira and Rand to Swiss Franc, Euro, Pounds, Dollar and Yen for the period of January 2010 to December 2017. The Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test and the Phillip Peron (PP) test were employed to determine the weak form efficiency while the Variance Decomposition, Granger Causality and Co-integration tests were used to determine the semi-strong form efficiency of both countries. The results of the study revealed that the Nigerian foreign exchange market is efficient in the weak and semi-strong form at 5% level of significance while the weak form efficiency of South African foreign exchange market revealed mixed results. The market is efficient in the weak form except for the case of Rand to Dollar and Rand to Yen which showed inefficiency. The market is equally efficient in semi-strong form. The study concluded that market participants cannot make exploitable profits by trading in both markets because all past and publicly available information are already incorporated in the prices of exchange rates. It was therefore recommended that the inter-bank market in both countries should be well monitored and managed by the regulatory authorities so as to promote the effective and efficient smooth functioning of the foreign exchange market as well as achieving a stable and realistic exchange rates.

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gofaone Matebejana ◽  
Gaotlhobogwe Motlaleng ◽  
James Juana

Abstract The random walk behaviour of exchange rates in Botswana’s foreign exchange market is explored by employing unit root tests. The unit root tests employed include the ADF, PP and the KPSS. This paper uses monthly data for the period 2000:01 to 2015:12. The conclusive evidence based on the unit roots tests indicates that the behaviour of the Pula against the South African Rand, Japanese Yen and the American Dollar exchange rates is consistent with the random walk process and the weak form efficiency market hypothesis. However, the Pula against the British Pound is inconsistent with the weak form efficiency market hypothesis. These results compliment those from Namibia (Mabakeng and Sheefeni, 2014). Furthermore, there is no evidence of the semi-strong form level of efficiency as revealed by the cointegration results obtained. These results corroborates with those found by Wickremasinghe (2008) and Çiçek (2014) in which weak form was found to exist whilst the semi-strong form was found not to exist. This paper has filled an important gap as it is the first study to investigate the efficiency of the foreign exchange market in Botswana.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-117
Author(s):  
Philani Shandu ◽  
Gideon Boako ◽  
Paul Alagidede

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the information-based microstructure theory’s effectiveness in explaining short-term disturbances in currency prices by determining whether the price discovery process in the US dollar (USD) and South African rand (ZAR)-USD/ZAR spot market is led by an individual market agent, around an exogenous news event. Design/methodology/approach The influence of central bank intervention-related events on USD/ZAR volatility is investigated through the application of Brown-Forsythe variance equality tests on individual dealer and market quotes. Furthermore, the study applies bivariate Granger-causality tests to individual dealers’ USD/ZAR spot rate quotes, in an effort to determine whether certain dealers can be established as price leaders around an exogenous news event. Findings The study finds significant evidence to suggest the USD/ZAR market price leadership of Nomura forex (FX) prior to the public announcement of a South African Reserve Bank intervention-related news event. This finding supports microstructure theory’s assertions regarding the existence of foreign-exchange market characteristics such as trader heterogeneity and private information. Research limitations/implications The paper is conducted on a sample of eight USD/ZAR market agents, of which six are offshore dealers, and only two are located locally. Although these proportions are somewhat relatable to the locations of rand turnover, it would still be interesting to investigate the existence of price leadership solely amongst South African authorised FX dealers. Practical implications The results suggest the existence and price relevance of private information, as well as the heterogeneous nature of USD/ZAR market participants, based on informational asymmetries. The outcomes of the paper are useful to market participants, researchers, and central banks alike. Originality/value Though the study does not impugn the body of work related to the orthodox macroeconomic approaches to exchange rate determination, it seems apparent that much more microstructure-related research still has to be conducted in the context of emerging market currencies. It is this void that the current study has attempted to provide for in contribution to literature.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Ali Farhan Chaudhry ◽  
Mian Muhammd Hanif ◽  
Sameera Hassan ◽  
Muhammad Irfan Chani

This empirical study is first of its nature to examine the weak-form of efficiency for unofficial foreign exchange market of Pakistan proxied by Japanese Yen (JPY/PKR), Swiss Franc (CHF/PKR), British Pound (GBP/PKR), and US Dollar (USD/PKR) exchange rates. For this we have employed Ljung Box Q-test, unit root tests including Dickey-Fuller (Dickey 1979), Augmented Dickey-Fuller (Dickey 1981) tests and Phillips and Perron (1988) test, Durbin Watson test, Runs-test, and Variance ratio test by using unofficial foreign exchange rate time series of Yen/PKR, CHF/PKR, GBP/PKR and USD/PKR from 1994M07 to 2001M06. Empirical results lead to the conclusion that the unofficial foreign exchange market of Pakistan is weak-form efficiency. The implications of this empirical research are of great importance for designing foreign exchange policy i.e. policy makers (be it accounting, export/import or public policy makers) are to consider fluctuations in unofficial foreign exchange rates while designing official foreign exchange rate policy of developing country like Pakistan. Further, policymakers can enhance the efficiency of official foreign exchange market by intervention subject to a widening of unofficial foreign exchange premium beyond a certain limit in developing countries like Pakistan.


1985 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 204-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Bhana

South African investors have been precluded from investing in foreign securities by the Exchange Control Regulations of 1961. Furthermore, the monetary policy pursued by the authorities has resulted in an inefficient financial market. Investments on the capital market have not earned satisfactory real rates of return, and prices on the JSE appear to have been driven to artificial heights. The De Kock Commission of Inquiry has proposed several recommendations which will have far-reaching consequences for investors in South Africa. The proposal of market-related interest rates and the abolition of prescribed investments by institutional investors is likely to result in long-term securities earning substantially higher real rates of return. The relaxation of exchange control for both direct and portfolio investment is likely to stem the flow of funds into the JSE. Investment funds can be expected to flow between the JSE and the various foreign equity markets depending on the economic prospects in the different countries. The high foreign exchange cost and poor liquidity of the local exchange market has been an obstacle to investors in foreign securities. The creation of a larger and more efficient foreign exchange market is likely to facilitate international portfolio diversification in South Africa.


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