The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) held the inaugural session of its new Africa Advisory Group on 21 March.
The advisory group plans to bring together African business leaders and senior representatives from pan-African economic bodies to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by the development of Africa’s capital market infrastructure, LSEG said in a statement.
Xavier Rolet, CEO of LSEG, is joined by Naguib Sawiris, CEO of Egyptian conglomerate Orascom; ABC Orjiako, Chairman, of Nigerian oil producer Seplat; Kola Karim, CEO of Nigerian energy & infrastructure company Shoreline Group; Brahim Benjelloun, General Manager of bank BMCE Morocco; and Ashish Thakkar, Founder & Chairman, of the Mara Group.
Governments and international organisations are represented by Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, Director General, Nigeria Pension Commission; Fatima Hara Acyl, Commissioner of the African Union; Richard Sezibera, Secretary General of the East Africa Community; and Oscar Onyema, President of the African Securities Exchanges Association.
“Africa represents the single largest growth opportunity in the world. To realise its staggering potential, African economies will need a sustainable and transparent funding mechanism to deliver growth finance to the thousands of ambitious, entrepreneur-led companies taking root across the continent,” Xavier Rolet said. “Only by harnessing an efficient capital markets infrastructure can this happen in a rapid yet controlled manner. We believe that the leading thinkers gathered in our new Advisory Group will be at the forefront of this evolution - a project and a process that London Stock Exchange Group is fully committed to supporting.”
LSEG’s MillenniumIT capital markets technology is used by 12 African securities exchanges including Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Africa’s largest; Bank of Ghana, Botswana Stock Exchange, Bourse de Casablanca, Egyptian Stock Exchange, Lusaka Stock Exchange, Mozambique Stock Exchange, Nairobi Stock Exchange, Namibia Stock Exchange, Nigerian Stock Exchange and Uganda Securities Exchange.
“The British Government is committed to assisting in the development of African capital markets. They
have a vital role to play in funding new and growing businesses and the infrastructure development we all
hope to see in Africa,” James Duddridge MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said. “We look forward to working with the Africa Advisory Group and to working with the London Stock Exchange to implement its recommendations.”
There are 113 African companies listed or trading on LSE, with a total market capitalisation of over $200 billion, that have raised more than $26 billion on LSE markets in the past 10 years, according to LSE.
