AfDB, LSEG’s Africa Advisory Group partnership to attract $5trn investment to Africa-Adesina

The president of African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina has said the bank is working with London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG’s) Africa Advisory Group (LAAG) to attract a bigger share of the $5 trillion global Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Assets under management into African capital markets.

The Chairman of LSEG, Don Robert on Wednesday welcomed the president of the AfDB to open markets for trading at London Stock Exchange (LSE).

Adesina in a statement said, “My ringing of the bell here today marks the beginning of a new exciting, strategic, and impactful engagement between the AfDB and LSE to jointly expand wealth creation in Africa and the UK”

Adesina said the synthetic synchronization of £1 billion issued by the Bank had attracted global institutional investors to look at infrastructure in Africa.

“We are excited about the recent listing of Kenya’s Acorn Holdings, the country’s first green bond in January 2020,” he added, then also touched on Africa Investment Forum.

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 $40.1 billion. Mozambique featured strongly in the 2019 edition, with state oil and fuel company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), tabling the largest deal worth $24.6 billion.

Wrapping up a three-day visit to the UK, during which he attended the first UK-Africa Investment Summit, Bank President, Adesina lauded the prospects of continued collaboration with LSEG.

The Chairman, LSEG, said “Deep and sustainable capital markets are key 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.

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 flow between the UK and Africa.

For Chinelo Anohu of the Africa Investment Forum, the visit to LSE 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.