Don Robert, chairman of London Stock Exchange Group, welcomed the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) to open markets for trading at London Stock Exchange on 22 January
The reception in London followed the AfDB’s Africa Investment Forum, held in November last year. The innovative market-place for accelerating investment into the continent is playing a valuable role in convening investors and corporates and removing the bottlenecks to investments and enabling a free flow of long-term capital.
The 2019 edition of the Forum, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, saw investor interest secured in deals valued at US$40.1bn. Mozambique featured strongly in the 2019 edition, with state oil and fuel company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), tabling the largest deal worth US$24.6bn.
Wrapping up a three-day visit to the UK, during which he attended the first UK-Africa Investment Summit, AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina lauded the prospects of continued collaboration with London Stock Exchange Group.
Don Robert, chairman, LSEG, said, “Deep and sustainable capital markets are important to supporting African companies and infrastructure. We look forward to continuing to play our part in the development of these markets and attracting investment to Africa. As such, we’re delighted to continue our collaboration with the African Development Bank, which has now formally become a member of LSEG’s Africa Advisory Group.”
“My ringing of the bell here today marks the beginning of a new exciting, strategic, and impactful engagement between the African Development Bank and London Stock Exchange to jointly expand wealth creation in Africa and the UK,” Adesina said.
The Bank on Tuesday became a formal member of LAAG, an advocacy group which serves as a platform to enhance the development of African capital markets, boost trade and investment flows between the UK and Africa.
Adesina said that the synthetic synchronisation of US$1.30bn issued by the Bank had attracted global institutional investors to look at infrastructure in Africa.
For Chinelo Anohu of the Africa Investment Forum, the visit to London Stock Exchange forms part of the Bank’s efforts to expand and deepen its relationships with foreign investors.
“With its unmatched growth and unparalleled investment opportunities, the next decade will, with no doubt, be Africa’s decade. Today’s ceremony signals the start of a new dawn for Africa, a continent that has embarked on an irreversible path to bring about lasting economic transformation,” she concluded.
“The city of London is the financial center of choice for Africa,” said Matthew Rycroft CBE, permanent secretary at the Department for International Development.
