INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE WEST AFRICAN CAPITAL MARKETS
INTEGRATION COUNCIL (WACMIC)
ABIDJAN, COTE D’IVOIRE
MARCH 18, 2013
The inaugural meeting of the WACMIC, which came after its inauguration by the President of
the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja, Nigeria, on January 19, 2013, was held in Abidjan, Cote
D’Ivoire, on March 18, 2013. The Council consists of the MDs/CEOs and DGs of the Stock
Exchanges and Securities & Exchange Commissions respectively, in member states of the
ECOWAS with Stock Exchanges, including Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra and Leone Cote D’Ivoire (for
the UEMOA region).
The main objective of the meeting was the election of the Chairman and Vice Chairman as spelt
out in the Charter establishing the Council, as well as the consideration of the reports of the
Technical Committee for the Integration of Capital Markets in the ECOWAS.
SECOND MEETING OF THE WEST AFRICAN CAPITAL MARKETS INTEGRATION
COUNCIL (WACMIC)
ACCRA, GHANA
SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
The second meeting of the West African Capital Markets Integration Council (WACMIC) was
held at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, Ghana, on Friday, September 6, 2013. This
meeting, which was a follow up on the inaugural WACMIC meeting, was hosted by the
Securities and Exchange Commission, Ghana, with logistic support from the Ghana Stock
Exchange (GSE) and the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), which, alongside the GSE,
serve as Secretariat for the WACMIC.
The meeting, which was aimed at reviewing the reports of the Technical Committees (TCS&D1
and L&R2 Sub-Committees), with a view to deciding the approach for the integration of the
capital markets in West Africa, took the form of Report presentation by the Chair of each of the
Sub-Committees, after which they were deliberated upon by the Council. The meeting also
1
2
Trading, Clearing, Settlement & Regulatory Sub-Committee
Legal and Regulatory Sub-Committee
provided participants the opportunity to be abreast with recent developments in the Capital
Markets of the WACMIC member countries through country presentations by the
BRVM/CREPMF3, GSE/SEC, and NSE/SEC.
Council members, led by the Chairman, Mr. Oscar Onyema, CEO of the NSE, and comprising
of the CEOs of the BRVM and GSE, as well as the DGs/President of the CREPMF in the
UEMOA zone and Ghana were present at the meeting. The DG of the Securities and Exchange
Commission, Nigeria, as well as the CEO and Regulatory Authority of the Sierra Leone Stock
Exchange were not present at the meeting. In attendance at the meeting were the Chairs and
secretaries of the two Sub-Committees, the West African Monetary Institute, and Stock Broking
firms from Ghana. Representatives of the Banque Centrale de la Republique de Guinee
(BCRG), Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in Ghana, The Chairman of the GSE
and the World Bank attended the meeting as observers. A comprehensive list of participants at
the meeting is annexed to this Report.
Summary of Key Decisions







3
That a 3-Phased approach to Capital Markets Integration be Adopted
That the first phase will commence in the first quarter of 2014
Council approved the harmonization of Listings Requirements across the region and this
should be achieved by the end of the first quarter of 2014.
Markets within the region will have a maximum listing cycle time from start to finish of 3
months.
Markets were asked to go back and do an impact analysis on the proposed harmonized
free structure.
The Committee was asked to review the proposed haircuts for equities and unlisted
securities. Council approved other recommendations however relating to the
methodology for determining the capital adequacy requirements and applicable haircuts
for CMOs that would be regulated. The CMOs are brokers, underwriters and issuing
houses.
In Phase 1 which is expected to start in March 2014, Brokers, Issuing Houses and
Underwriters will be able to operate freely across the sub-region once they meet the
required minimum capital requirement and other requirements such as experience,
capacity, and technology. Their functions must however be separated. The regulatory
capital requirement was set at $500,000 for Brokers, $625,000 for Underwriters and $1
million for Issuing Houses.
The Francophone equivalent of Securities and Exchange Commission







That The NSE would draft an MOU/ standard contract for sponsored access and circulate.
(The Chairman promised to circulate the MOU to Council Members within 2 weeks.)
That there should be MOUs amongst the Regulators and Exchanges.
Exchanges must have rules that dimension the process which would be approved by the
SECs.
That it was important to engage the banks that are operating in the sub region. Central
banks would also have to be involved because of large ticket transactions.
That WAMI should engage Ecobank and at the country level, Exchanges and SECs are to
engage their Bankers’ Committee and make presentations at the next Bankers Committee
meetings.
WAMI was to ensure that Council gets on the agenda for the next meeting of the College
of Bankers Supervision which is likely to hold in October, 2013 and that the Chairman or
any other Council member would make a presentation at that meeting.
There should be massive awareness campaign and appropriate media coverage.
Sensitization workshops will be held around the region with 2 holding in Nigeria and 1
each in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire
Timelines for other phases will be determined as Members have a clearer understanding of when
Phase 1 is likely to be concluded
UPCOMING EVENTS
THIRD MEETING OF THE WACMIC
Objective: To fine tune the details and finalize plans for the commencement of the first phase of
the integration of capital markets in the ECOWAS
Venue/Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Date: November 14-15, 2013