By Ngozi Onyeakusi —The West African Securities Regulatory Authorities, WASRA has drawn up draft guidelines on cross border issuance of fixed incomes and a Mutual Recognition Agreement for the region.

These were some of the high points of the meeting of the body held in Sydney, Australia on the sidelines of the 44th conference/meeting of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, IOSCO.

Acting Director General Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk who spoke in an interview, said members discussed these and others extensively at the meeting with the aim of giving a final approval in their next Executive Council meeting.

“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 carry out their businesses and assist in deepening capital markets within the West African sub-region.

The SEC DG disclosed that the body is working towards building the relationship between WASRA and ECOWAS Commission; working on the integrated supervision model needed for the establishment of cross-border transaction and issuers; the monitoring framework and recommendation of appropriate risk management framework for the supervision in the region (issuance of cross border).

Uduk therefore 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, AMERC met during the meeting and deliberated on the findings of a report on Listings as a challenge in the region; and members agreed to engage consultants to implement the recommendations of the report.

“The Growth and Emerging Market Committee (GEMC) also deliberated on its work carried out on Sustainable Financing. This is an area considered by the GEMC to be critical and urges the capital market regulators to engage the industry largely to promote sustainable financing in the region.

“The aim of these meetings was to foster the growth of capital markets in the region through integration and deepening of the markets by sharing information and experiences from different jurisdictions” she added.

Highlights from these meetings, she said, included high-level discussions on Emerging Risks in the region; Margin requirements, Leveraging on Asset Management Investment Funds, Market Fragmentation, Fintech, Crypto Assets and Sustainable Finance.

Uduk said notes will be issued after due consultation with the various regional committees for purpose of direction and harmonization of standards.