The
African Financial Markets Initiative (AFMI), managed by the African
Development Bank (AfDB), has hosted a Pan-African Stakeholder
Workshop from October 22 to 24, 2012, at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in
Tunis.
The
workshop offered a unique opportunity for policymakers and market
participants to share experiences and contribute to discussions on
critical issues facing the development of local currency bond markets
in Africa.
In contrast to
other regions in the world, few African countries can effectively
access capital in their domestic markets. This is because African
capital markets are for the most part at an early stage of
development and therefore are generally small, illiquid and lacking a
full range of financial and investment products. However, financial
sector development, including matured local currency bond markets, is
paramount to successful and sustainable economic growth in Africa.
Through exchange
and discussion during the Pan-African Stakeholder Workshop,
participants from 50 African countries, including sovereign issuers,
institutional investors, representatives from finance ministries,
central banks, credit rating agencies, stock exchanges and
development finance institutions, covered areas such as the
development of primary and secondary markets, the expansion and
diversification of the investor base, and strengthening of domestic
bond market infrastructure.
Charles Boamah,
AfDB Vice President for Finance, said: “The forum offered a great
opportunity for stakeholders to identify and prioritize the
challenges and impediments to bond market development on the
continent. We look forward to the outcomes from this event that not
only allow us to agree with our development partners and stakeholders
on the work that lies ahead, but also to come up with a concrete
action plan to be shared with Finance Ministers and Central Bank
Governors for support in implementation.”
The African
Financial Markets Initiative (AFMI) is an integrated and tailored
response to meet the market needs of stakeholders in Africa. Launched
by the AfDB Group in 2008 and funded by the AfDB, the Fund for
African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA) and the Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA), AFMI is designed to further
develop domestic debt markets on the continent.
Distributed
by the African Press Organization on behalf of the ADB
