The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with the Rand Merchant Bank, is organizing a workshop on African Capital Markets Development from 27-29 October 2003 in Sandton, Johannesburg, bringing together senior officials and CEOs from African capital markets, central banks, ministries of finance, academia, investment houses and stock broking firms. Key speakers include K.Y. Amoako, the Executive Secretary of ECA, and Paul Harris, Chairman of Rand Merchant Bank.
The three-day workshop is articulated around discussions on topics such as the importance of accurate economic data, the role of public education in the development of African capital markets, building a modern governance system for African capital markets, the development of the debt markets and the role of government in the development of capital markets.
While underscoring the importance of capital markets to Africa's economic development, the workshop will also consider the impact of other socio-economic factors such as conflict, HIV/AIDS, poverty, governance, the health of banks, etc, on the development of capital markets. This in turn is part of the overall strategy of ECA in pushing for African economies to be private-sector driven.
This is the first in a series of regional workshops being organized by ECA on capital markets development and is targeted at southern and eastern African countries. Partnership with the Rand Merchant Bank is a great asset as Rand is one of the largest merchant banks in Africa, with a large network in the southern African region and outside Africa.
Other key speakers include Patrick Asea, Director of the Economic and Social Policy Division of ECA; Sunil Benimadhu, CEO of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius; Tom Lawless, CEO of the Bond Exchange of South Africa; and Nicholas Biekpe, Head, Africa Centre for Investment Analysis, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, Andrew Motshidisi, Deputy Governor, Bank of Botswana; Marty Essenburg, Managing Director, Standard Chartered Bank, London; Simon Rutega, CEO, Ugandan Securities Exchange; Sam Mensah, Executive Director, SEM Financial Group Ltd and African Capital Markets Forum; Charles C. Okeahalam, Managing Director, Africa Growth Holdings; Rudolf Gouws, Chief Economist of Rand Merchant Bank; Justin Chinyanta, CEO of Loita Capital; and Ndung'u Gathinji, Chairman and CEO, Eastern, Central and Southern African Federation of Accountants (ECSAFA)
