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Africa, Mid-East capital regulators form group to push for more listings

Kuwait City, Kuwait, Jan 24 – Securities regulators in Africa and Middle East have approved a joint project with Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSDA) to develop strategies to increase listings and the uptake of capital markets products in the region.

During the 42nd Meeting of the Africa Middle East Regional Committee (AMERC) of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) the members agreed that promoting additional listings was key to tackling market liquidity challenges faced in multiple markets as well as reinforcing the central role of securities markets to support sustainable economic growth through increased market-based financing.

Some of the key recommendations arising from the work of the AMERC Working Group on Listings to be further developed upon include: creating more awareness among prospective companies on the opportunities available in the capital markets; improving the efficiency of regulator approval processes to minimize time to market for issuers and reviewing minimum float requirements and minimum shareholder requirements.

The Group also committed to train market intermediaries to build their capacity to motivate & handle transactions and considering more incentives for prospective issuers such as subsidising listing costs and negotiating preferential tax treatment for listed companies.

To move the discussion forward, AMERC, will draw on support from FSD Africa to identify and unlock the potential for additional listings; promote and deepen market-based financing through the spectrum of capital markets products; and catalyse business growth and expansion plans in the AMERC region.

Noting the diverse levels of development of markets in the region, the work will leverage lessons from jurisdictions that have increased listings through policy interventions and innovative and facilitative regulatory frameworks.

In response to the growing demand for responsible or sustainable investments globally, Members further deliberated the need to work towards greater convergence on standards for sustainable finance to address quality and consistency of disclosure, costs of issuance and attractiveness to investors.

Regional members acknowledged that the demand for sustainable assets also provided a platform to use sustainable issuances to fast track wider market structure and efficiency reforms that can strengthen the overall market value chain for all asset classes.

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