The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) will be hosting the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) conference – a premier association of 25 securities exchanges. The conference will be held in Johannesburg from 15 – 17 November.
The theme of the conference is Africa Evermore: Growth for sustainability. The conference serves to underline the fact that Africa’s capital markets are stable, have huge potential, and are growing.
“The conference will be another step in establishing the sustainable development of African capital markets, finding ways to facilitate and increase market access at the regional level, and promoting greater interconnection among African exchanges,” says ASEA president Oscar Onyema.
ASEA aims at developing member exchanges while enhancing their global competitiveness. The conference will include major players in the African capital markets, including listed companies, trading participants, regulators, government representatives, technology providers, legal advisors, and institutional investors from Africa, Europe, and Asia. The discussion topics will focus on themes relevant to Africa and will provide an ideal opportunity to network and exchange information with industry leaders from across the continent.
Over the last ten years, the continent has posted steady growth, standing up to the impact of global shocks and becoming an investment destination of choice. A combined projected GDP growth above 5% in 2015 and the world’s largest youth demographic indicates that Africa is positioned to compete effectively with economies such as China and India over the next 20 years. Capital markets have been the key drivers of this economic transformation and they continue to play a central role in Africa’s growth story.
The topics will include issues of vital importance to the future development and growth of the continent. Discussions whether increasing liquidity and transparency is a pipe dream for the African continent or asking how the economic health of African countries can either mobilise or jeopardise the value of capital markets are issues that ASEA members and its affiliates need to address.
ASEA mandate is to promote Africa not only as a sound investment destination offering better returns than more developed markets but one that also incorporates strong regulatory structures. The conference will highlight how ASEA and its stakeholders are implementing best practice to compete globally for foreign direct investment (FDI), attract capital flows, and boost investor confidence.
Nicky Newton-King, Chief Executive Officer of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, which is hosting the conference, will speak on the role of the JSE as a Corporate Citizen. The JSE is ranked the 19th largest stock exchange in the world and is the largest on the continent.
Other speakers include Mohammed Omran, the Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange and Professor of Finance at the Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Edoh Kossi Amenounve, CEO of the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) and the Central Depository/Settlement Bank. BRVM is an electronic stock exchange for eight West Africa countries based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
