The role of cross-listings in establishing a Southern African ...

Master's Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Economics - Case Scenarios, , course: LLM in International Trade, Investment and Business Law in Africa, language: English, abstract: It has been established that African stock markets are confronted with a multitude of problems which include, inadequate liquidity, low capitalisation, few market participants, a small number of listed companies and low trading volumes. As a result, their broader economic impact has so far been limited. The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) stock markets with the exception of South Africa are small, both in terms of the number of listed companies and market capitalisation, and they display considerable illiquidity. In general, the SADC region has shallow and underdeveloped financial markets. Their development has been hampered by a number of factors which include; political and economic uncertainty, fiscal dominance, weak judicial institutions, limited investment opportunities in the private sector, technological constraints, and the shortage of skilled personnel with expertise in banking and finance. It is contended that all these problems could be eased through regional financial integration. The integration of African stock markets and the introduction of regional stock exchanges will promote cross-border listings and thus stimulate increased liquidity across markets. Thus, it is suggested that the integration of SADC’s stock markets and the creation of a regional stock exchange is one of the panaceas to overcome Africa’s stock market problems. A regional stock exchange has the potential for tremendous benefits for both local and foreign investors, as well as for business enterprises in the region