African Exchanges Linkage Project Commences Cross-border Trading

African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP) has commenced integration of the African capital markets by facilitating cross-border trading and free movement of investments in the continent through the AELP Link platform.

The go-live happened when the platform was officially switched on ‪at 0000 UTC. The interconnectivity platform enables the trading of exchange-listed securities across seven participating securities exchanges.

Speaking on the go-live, the president of ASEA,  Dr. Edoh Amenounve said: “the go-live today of the AELP Link is a great milestone towards achieving ASEA’s mission to engage African capital market ecosystems in order to foster capital mobilization, promote sustainability, and enhance financial inclusion for the benefit of Africa’s economic development.

“Trading infrastructure harmonization through the Link is expected to ease existing trading processes and potentially reduce the cost of trading across African capital markets. I therefore congratulate all the participating exchanges and the respective brokers for being front-runners in this great pan-African integration initiative.”

On the successful live integration of the AELP, the chief executive officer, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Mr Temi Popoola, lauded the efforts of stakeholders in the actualisation of the project, saying, “the AELP Link is a testament to the will of African capital market participants, particularly exchanges to effectively collaborate and drive cross-border trading and capital formation.

“It will significantly facilitate capital flows between African countries and further move us closer to the accomplishment of the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement via the fusion of our respective financial markets.”

The AELP, a flagship project of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), is aimed at facilitating cross-border trading among seven participating Exchanges and select broker firms.

The seven Exchanges participating in Phase one of the AELP are: Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres (BRVM), Bourse de Casablanca, The Egyptian Exchange (EGX), Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM).