Representatives from African stock exchanges initiated a two-day meeting in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, Thursday to promote cross-trading in listed securities.
The 26th Annual African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) Conference convened 25 exchanges from across the continent to expedite the integration of capital markets.
During his opening remarks, Kenyan President William Ruto said that trading listed securities among African countries would create a larger pool of investors in the continent’s capital markets.
“Cross-trading in securities will also facilitate learning from different countries’ best practices within the same ecosystem,” he said.
Throughout the meeting, participants will devise concrete solutions to sector challenges, fostering a more inclusive and robust pan-African financial markets ecosystem.
Thapelo Tsheole, ASEA president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Botswana Stock Exchange, said that seven securities exchanges across Africa have already been linked on a digital platform for electronic trading of listed equities.
“The integration of Africa’s capital markets is expected to significantly enhance exchanges’ liquidity,” Tsheole added.
Oscar Onyema, CEO of the Nigerian Exchange Group, noted that seamless cross-trading of securities in Africa would transform the continent into a single capital market.
“Capital market integration will also amplify the influx of foreign investors into the continent,” he added.