- April 16, 2021
- Posted by: ASEA
- Category: News
CONNECTING AFRICAN CAPITAL MARKETS
Seven leading African securities exchanges are building a cross-border trading link in support of the African Union’s Vision 2063 of free flow of investment and capital. The African Exchanges Linkage Project aims to mark concrete progress towards funding economic development, jobs, industrialization and infrastructure.
At a webinar titled “Connecting African Capital Markets” organized by Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A) knowledge platform on 25 February, 2021, His Excellency Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and keynote speaker, highlighted the role of the capital markets and the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) in the actualization of the AfCFTA: “I look forward to partnership where we both will confront this challenge of mobilizing investment for productive sector capacity on the African continent.”
Other speakers included Dr Felix Edoh Kossi Amenounvé, President of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), and Stefan Nalletamby, Director Financial Sector Development Department, African Development Bank (AfDB). Panellists discussed Cross-border investment flows within Africa and role of the African Exchanges Linkage Project. The panellists were Gerald Gondo, Executive Director, Business Development, Riscura Africa; Willie Njoroge, acting Secretary General of African Stockbrokers and Securities Dealers Association (ASSDA); and Tom Minney, Project Manager of the AELP. The panel moderator was Akin Adigun, CFA, Senior Capital Markets Officer, AfDB and the Master of Ceremonies was Guy Menan, Research and Knowledge Manager, MFW4A.
The AfCFTA, launched on 1 January 2021, is the world’s second-largest free trade area and includes free trade in goods and services. Mr Mene said it aimed to double intra-African trade by 2035 and support industrial development to make Africa competitive. “This is why it is so important that we confront these challenges together of directing… investment to industrial development for Africa. We know that the establishment of value chains will require intensive investment over a sustained period.”
The AELP is a joint initiative by ASEA and the AfDB to unlock Pan-African investment flows, promote innovations that support diversification for investors, and address depth and liquidity in the markets. It is funded by the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Trust Fund through the AfDB.
The securities exchanges participating in the AELP first phase are: Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM, integrating eight West African countries), Casablanca Stock Exchange, The Egyptian Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Nairobi Securities Exchange, The Nigerian Stock Exchange and Stock Exchange of Mauritius. Together they list more than 1,050 African companies covering more than 95% of the market capitalization of Africa’s exchanges.
Mr. Minney, Project Manager for the AELP updated on the progress on implementing the AELP including the design of the AELP Link order-routing technology platform.
The AELP Link will send clients’ buy and sell orders from a stockbroker on one market to a sponsoring broker on a market where a security is already traded. The link will include all listed securities such as equities, bonds, exchange-traded and other funds, and real estate investment trusts. The aim is to make it easier for an investor in one participating market to buy and sell securities listed on other participating Exchanges.
For more information on the webinar and recording of the presentations please see https://www.mfw4a.org/events/webinar-replay-connecting-african-capital-markets.
For more information contact
Tom Minney,
Project Manager, African Exchanges Linkage Project
c/o ASEA Secretariat Nairobi
tel: +44 7768 318738, email, tminney@african-exchanges.org
Akin Adigun
Senior Capital Markets Officer, African Development Bank.
Tel: +225 5538 4528; Email a.adigun@afdb.org
Supplementary quotes
Dr Felix Edoh Kossi Amenounvé, President of ASEA commented: “The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation and the AELP project have a common objective to improve Africa’s domestic capacity and are very complementary. The AfCFTA agreement focuses on boosting intra-African trade and strengthening the competitiveness of African companies, the AELP platform aims to stimulate intra-African flows and provide more opportunities for investors regardless their location”.
Mr Stefan Nalletamby, Director Financial Sector Development Department, African Development Bank, said: “The African Development Bank supports the emergence of well-regulated, deep, and liquid capital markets with diverse product offerings. The African Exchanges Linkage Project will support African corporates in raising capital through issuances across multiple jurisdictions, leading to increased domestic and foreign institutional investors participation in African capital markets.”
