News and developments on African capital markets: African securities, African stock exchanges, African equities, African bonds, African private equity/venture capital, and African social impact investment. Twitter @africancapital, LinkedIn African Securities Exchanges group.
Key points from panel “Alternative exchanges and connecting the African markets: What do you need to know?” at the World Exchange Congress 2017 in Budapest.
Roundup of some recent initial public offers (IPOs) of shares which raised capital for businesses listed on Africa’s stock exchanges.
Mauritius is the top base for private equity funds investing into Africa and is positioning as an attractive capital-raising platform for focused Africa-oriented ventures.
Malawi came out as Africa’s top-performing exchange to USD-based investors over 2013 with a strong 62.4% return. Eight out of 13 African exchanges beat the S&P 500.
Africa’s 24 stock markets should learn to work together better if they are to seize high levels of investor interest, said Nicky Newton-King, CEO of South Africa’s JSE Ltd. She told an interviewer that plumbing, – technology and other links between exchanges and clearing and settlement – were more likely routes to more liquidity than trying to create a single exchange.
A partnership between the innovative Stock Exchange of Mauritius and social enterprise NeXii is making great progress towards setting up the Impact Exchange (iX) board on a globally recognized stock exchange. Six companies have gone through the listing process and the iX board expects to start trading in the third quarter of 2013.
The ten stock exchanges of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are working together to increase the effectiveness of their markets. The Committee of SADC Stock Exchanges (CoSSE) has agreed to concentrate on six priority areas in support of regional moves to more efficient capital markets.
The first offshore company was approved to be listed for trading on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius. Evisa Investments Ltd, which has invested in Kenyan insurance, has a Global Business Licence Category 1, approved by the Mauritius Financial Services Commission.
Developing Africa’s securities exchanges is critical for the continent’s development, with capital markets standing between huge demand for capital for growth and huge demand to invest. The key issues are on the agenda of The 15th Annual African Securities Exchange Association conference (in Marrakesh, Morocco), hosted by Casablanca Stock Exchange, 12-13 December.
The dynamic Stock Exchange of Mauritius is pushing ahead with building itself as a secure base for international funding transactions and an African alternative to international listing venues. It is moving to becoming a multi-product exchange aimed at the international market.