The West Africa Securities Regulators Association (WASRA), rose from a meeting at the weekend, with members agreeing to hold the inaugural biennial West Africa Capital Market Conference (WACMaC) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, from the October 27 to 29, 2019.
Rising from its executive council meeting in Accra, Ghana, Chairman of WASRA and Director-General of Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission, Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, gave the conference theme as “Positioning West Africa capital markets to achieve sustainable and real economic growth through integration and sound regulation.”
Tetteh said the conference will focus on infrastructure financing across the region, where experts will proffer solutions and recommendations capable of shaping the development and integration of the region’s capital markets and economies.
According to him, “activities in today’s markets span across regions with inter-regional issuances and listings being the impetus needed to drive economic integration and growth in the region. Thus, the theme for the inaugural conference is timely and affords us the opportunity to leverage the information and knowledge that will be shared at the upcoming Conference.”
Commenting on the plan, acting Director-General of Nigeria’s SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk, said one of the mandates of WASRA is the provision of a regulatory platform for capital market operators to mobilize infrastructure finance and contribute to integration and ultimately develop the regional capital market.
“It is expected that the challenges facing regulators and market operators in regulating cross border activities and bodies, raising inter-regional funds and listings will be adequately addressed,” she stressed.
The conference will open with a seminar for regulators, exchanges and depositories in the region, followed by a public conference with speakers and panelists drawn from regulatory agencies, investment funds, inter-regional economic bodies, as well as eminent researchers and academics.
A statement by SEC Nigeria assured that the WACMaC is expected to become a major biennial event for the capital market community in the region and is jointly organised by WASRA, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West African Capital Market Integration Council (WACMIC), and the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI).