The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) has informed the public that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA).
According to WFE and the Association, the two main goals of the memorandum will be:
- to support the development of market infrastructures in Africa, and a wider African capital market ecosystem in the near future;
- to enable African market infrastructures to develop best practices based on global standards, while remaining appropriate to the needs of the region and nation in which they operate.
The WFE and ASEA are going to find new ways to increase the amount of data published by the region, that deliver these two overarching objectives.
Nandini Sukumar, Chief Executive Officer, WFE said:
The WFE is delighted to announce this ground-breaking MOU with ASEA. The WFE’s market development mandate has always been a key pillar of the federation, but this agreement crystallises our vision to support members in specific regions with targeted activity. We believe that exchanges in Africa will benefit from this focused approach, be it through our technical expertise, capacity building programme, or broader market development assistance to help them meet international standards and best practice. We look forward to engaging more deeply on the topics that matter to African market infrastructures, and further growing our knowledge and relationships in this vibrant continent.
Commenting on the MOU, the former President of ASEA and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oscar N. Onyema commented:
ASEA and the WFE will work in tandem to promote quality market standards, advocate for enabling policies, and support the growth of member exchanges. As such, this partnership will inspire and support African exchanges to unlock greater levels of competitiveness through information sharing and the adoption of best practices. At the same time, we also expect that the partnership will offer WFE members a unique perspective on capital market issues and provide stakeholders in the global capital market with new prospects in the world’s ‘next frontier of growth’. We welcome this opportunity to enhance our value proposition to ASEA members’ and we encourage members of both associations to take advantage of emerging opportunities.
Speaking at the MOU signing ceremony, Karim Hajji, Chief Executive Officer of Bourse de Casablanca and incoming President of ASEA said:
Together with my fellow Executive Committee Members, we are very keen on implementing the agreed activities of our partnership with the WFE, and translating them into tangible results for the benefit of the two institutions.