The Securities and Exchange Commission says the West African Securities Regulatory Authorities has drawn up draft guidelines on cross-border issuance of fixed incomes and a mutual recognition agreement for the region.
The acting Director-General, SEC, Ms Mary Uduk, said the guidelines were drawn at the 44th conference of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions in Australia.
She said issues around cross-border issuance of securities were discussed at the meeting with the aim of giving a final approval at the next executive council meeting.
Uduk said, “Recall that WASRA had also consented to the convergence of existing rules of capital market regulatory agencies within the region in a bid to ensure that cross-border listing is carried out with little or no hitches.
“This is expected to allow foreign companies to carry out their businesses and assist in deepening capital markets within the West African sub-region.”
She commended WASRA members for their determination to build a strong and competitive regional market that would rank at par with the markets of other regions of the world and, more importantly, in the areas of transparency, disclosure, efficiency, accountability and investor protection.
Uduk also disclosed that the Africa and Middle East Regional Committee met during the meeting and deliberated on the findings of a report on listings as a challenge in the region.
She said members agreed to engage consultants to implement the recommendations of the report.
According to her, the aim of the meeting is to foster the growth of capital markets in the region through the integration and deepening of the markets by sharing information and experiences from different jurisdictions.