West African market integration takes off

The West African Capital Markets Integration Council has organised a series of workshops, signalling the commencement of the planned integration of capital markets in West Africa.

West African Capital Market Integration programme, which has linkages to the West African Monetary Institute, was established in 2001 by the heads of state in the West African Monetary Zone.

According to the Chairman, WACMIC, Mr. Oscar Onyema, the market integration will take place in three phases.

In the first phase, trading is expected to commence among WACMI members through sponsored access.

The second phase will involve the introduction of membership privileges, while the third phase will mark the full integration, meaning all markets will be accessible by qualified West African brokers.

While the first phase is scheduled to be completed at the end of March 2014, the third phase is expected to be completed in 2015.

Two different workshops organised by WACMIC in Lagos and Abuja last week to enable stakeholders to learn more about the programme and provide feedback ended with many participants expressing support for the project.

Onyema, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange, expressed confidence about the programme, adding that the first phase will be completed before the end of March 2014.

He, however, stressed that the success of the project depended largely on the participation of key market stakeholders conducting transaction within the sub-region.

“We have set for ourselves a very ambitious target of completing the first phase of integration by the end of March 2014, and commencement of implementation by April 1, 2014; and we believe it is achievable having carefully mapped out our implementation strategies,” Onyema was quoted as saying at the first workshop in Lagos.

The exchanges involved in the programme are the NSE, Ghana Stock Exchange, Sierra Leone Stock Exchange and The Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres, which covers eight francophone countries.

At the second workshop in Abuja, it was gathered that the planned integration received the backing of the National Assembly with the Senate Committee on Capital Market expressing support for the programme.

The Chairman of the Senate committee, Ayoade Adeseun, said the Nigerian parliament and ECOWAS parliament were fully in support of the integration process.

Adeseun, who was represented by Mrs. Halima Mohammed, explained that the integration of the capital markets would lead to the economic growth of the region with many benefits.

He said, “I wish to assure the council of the support of the committee of the capital market in the Nigerian Senate as well as the ECOWAS parliament that the creation of the necessary and enabling framework, (that will engender economic growth), whether legal or otherwise, will be vigorously supported.”

Also, the Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission, Suleyman Ndanusa, expressed the confidence that all regulators in West Africa would support the project.

He said, “The initiative will clearly broaden the capital raising space for listed companies with positive impact on industrial development.

“I believe that access to a wider market, which integration provides, could encourage more companies to embrace the capital market funds and listing and further deepen the regional markets.”

Copyright PUNCH.