The proceedings of the 24th annual conference of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) started with a successful plenary session on the morning of Wednesday, November 24th. Perhaps the most striking distinction of the first day rests on the compelling speeches delivered on this occasion !
The speeches given on the first day emphasized the crucial role that should be played by the African financial markets in the development process of African countries and of the continent as a whole.
In his speech at the opening session, Dr. Edoh AMENOUNVE, the President of ASEA shed light on the importance of the Association, stating: “ASEA is made up of 26 African stock exchanges with 2400 listed companies. These represent a total market capitalization of more than $1.6 trillion dollars, that is to say 61% of the continent’s GDP”. Moreover, the Togolese head of ASEA reiterated the significant role of this event, emphasizing that “The annual conference represents a flagship event of the Association, as it gathers the actors of the capital markets sector in the continent with a view to discuss the challenges and the future of our stock exchanges and market infrastructures”.
For his part, Mr. Kamal MOKDAD, the Chairperson of the Board of the Casablanca Stock Exchange, where the current event is taking place, specified that in the light of the current context: “The financial markets, and particularly the African capital markets, are invited to play the role of an engine of development which contributes to mitigate the economic repercussions caused by the pandemic, allowing our continent to regain its course of sustainable and inclusive growth”.
This opening session ended with a speech given by Mr. Tarik SENHAJI, Director General of the Casablanca Stock Exchange, who called upon public authorities, stock exchanges and the entire relevant ecosystem to work shoulder to shoulder for the development of African stock markets.
“Since the emergence itinerary requires resilient infrastructure, strong and flexible legal and regulatory frameworks, then the support of public authorities to boost our markets is highly needed”. In addition, Mr. SENHAJI addressed his African counterparts, calling on them to get engaged in the mobilization for the economic recovery, stating, “We must mobilize ourselves, our ecosystem along with the private sector in order to highlight the benefits of IPO financing, and we should also innovate and customize our offers in a way that facilitates the SMEs financing”.
It is recalled that the 24th ASEA Conference, held under the theme “Financial markets: Essential Drivers in the Emergence of Africa”, offers a rich agenda, led by about thirty international experts from different countries around the world, namely from the United Kingdom, United States of America, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.
The agenda of the first day responded to a number of questions like: How to accelerate the development of financial markets in Africa? What issues and challenges that encounter climate change financing? How to anticipate the future of disruptive technologies? Of course, that’s not all. This day included also the presentation of the IMF and the International Finance Corporation’s report titled: “Public Enterprises in Emerging and Developing Economies – Lessons learnt from Success and Failure Stories for over 30 Years”, in addition to the presentation of an official report by the IT Commission of ASEA on disruptive technologies.
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