African Capital Market operators form single body

In from Ali Smart…

In its quest to ensure economic integration, capital regulators across the sub-region have formed an association known as West Africa Securities Regulators Association (WASRA).

Addressing journalists at the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing event in Abuja, the Director General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Alhaji Mounir Gwarzo said capital market regulators in the sub-region have not had a close collaboration and close interface within the Commissions in the past.

Based on this, the sub-regional regulators have looked at corporate entities that are listed in more than one jurisdiction “so we can have interface either in terms of financial literacy or in terms of enforcement to see that countries come together and share information.”

Justifying the need for the association, Gwarzo said they “looked at the issue of information and agreed that we are going to form a team within our own jurisdictions who will have a close interface with the various jurisdictions particularly as it relates to some companies that have dual listings, companies that are listed in more than one country within the region. So that whatever they do anywhere, that information is shared between us, we think this is good for the market and also good for investors.”

The new West Africa Capital markets regulators association has three members that cover the entire sub-region.

Gwarzo stated that why they singled out only three countries was because, “within the West Afrcian sub-region, Counseil Regional De L’Epargne Publique Et Des Marchès Financiers (CREPMF) supervises the other exchanges in the francophone countries; about eight of them. We have not missed out anyone of them which leaves Nigeria and Ghana as the other members to make up the association.”

The association he said will engage a project manager who will drive the process and member countries will all look inward at what it will cost to run the association for the next two years. This issue will then be finalised at the next meeting of the association.

Read also: ECOWAS to merge capital markets

According to Gwarzo, “we have come up with a framework which is a Memorandum of Understanding. We have also elected somebody to lead the association among the three of us and unanimously we agreed on Mr. Mory Soumahoro, Secretary General, Counseil Regional De L’Epargne Publique Et Des Marchès Financiers (CREPMF) who will chair the association for the next two years.”

Director General of the Ghana SEC Dr. Adu A. Antwi said there have seen some progress in the area of integration in the region, “what will back this progress is for regulators to have their own association which will lead and ensure that what the association of capital market operators in the sub-region are doing will become a success since we are the people that interface with government on policies.”

Antwi expressed happiness that the capital market regulators association of West Africa is on course and they believe that the association will achieve the objectives of ECOWAS to ensure that the states are integrated.

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