By Peter Egwuatu
There are indications that the recent crisis rocking the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) may forestall the speedy integration of the African Stock Exchanges which has reached an advanced stage.

OKEREKE

Ghana Stock Exchange authority has expressed fear that the crisis in the NSE may jeopardize the integration of the stock exchanges in African and consequently called on the regulatory authority to urgently address the situation.

The crisis in the NSE reached the climax when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) removed the former Director-General of the NSE, Prof. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, and some members of its Governing Council last month over a crisis that resulted from allegation of financial impropriety and issues of corporate governance. SEC thereafter appointed Mr. Emmanuel Ikazoboh as the Interim Administrator while Mallam Ballama Manu was made the Interim President of the NSE Council .

Consequently, the Commission ordered a probe into the finances of the NSE and mandated it to commence the process to recruit a substantive Director-General.

However, operators of the Nigerian capital market are also of the opinion that sack of Okereke-Onyiuke may hinder the progress of integration since the issue of appointing a new helmsman for ASEA would be the burning topic when the next ASEA meeting holds before the end of the year.

They have also opined that the establishment of a regional Stock Exchange and the promotion of multiple listings and cross-border trade in securities would stimulate increased liquidity on national Stock Exchanges across Africa. They stated that African countries may, however, use lessons of experience from other regions as points of reference, while pursuing their own discourse of self-determination.

It would be recalled that major Stock Exchanges in West Africa, all of them members of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), had taken a major move geared towards fully integrating all the Stock Exchanges in the sub region. The Stock Exchanges of Nigeria and Ghana, alongside Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), signed a MOU to go ahead with the deal.

It would be recalled that the erstwhile and sacked Director General of the NSE, Prof. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, who is also the new president of ASEA had in the last meeting of ASEA hosted in Nigeria said the signing of MOU signifies the commitment of the sub-region to integrate their markets and trading systems.

Okereke-Onyiuke, who signed on behalf of Nigeria, said the NSE had been collaborating with the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) on the integration process over the years, while there had been challenges from the BRVM due to language problems.

A private corporation, and the only regional Stock Exchange on the continent of Africa, BRVM serves the francophone West African countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. Its headquarter is in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, with market offices in each member country.

The MOU was signed by the major Stock Exchanges in the last ASEA meeting hosted in Abuja, Nigerian during the 13th Annual Conference of the association.

Expressing delight over the development, the leaders of the various Stock Exchanges present at the conference pledged their commitment towards ensuring a successful integration of the West African sub region into a common Stock Exchange.

The members believe that this MOU opens the way for Stock Exchanges in the sub region to establish a regional platform for trading in stocks, despite the obstacles posed by the differences in currencies, languages and regulations in the individual member countries.

Meanwhile, Vanguard gathered that Zambia’s Lusaka Stock Exchange (LUSE) will host the 14th African Stock Exchange Association (ASEA) conference from 10 -12 November. The theme this year is “Integration of African Capital Markets through Technology”.

LUSE Chief Executive Officer, Beatrice Nkanza.says the Stock Exchange has been preparing for the conference since 2008, when it was agreed Zambia would host this year’s event. Previously LUSE successfully hosted the 5th conference in September 1998.

The agenda includes: capital markets and economic growth in Africa, the role of financial systems in capital market developments, a road map for the future of African stock exchanges, regulation, investor protection and corporate governance, credit rating, IT solutions & the role of technology, valuation, research, asset management, bond market development strategies, regional Integration, cross-border securities settlement and private equity vs. public-private partnerships.

ASEA is a not-for-profit association of 20 stock exchanges drawn from 27 African countries. It was founded in Kenya in 1993 for systematic mutual co-operation and exchange of information among its members. It seeks to increase the visibility of African stock exchanges as the preferred frontier markets for investments including attracting foreign direct investments (FDI).