Nigeria is proposing a regional capital-market framework that would allow governments and companies to raise funds across 10 West African countries under a common regulatory arrangement, as the Federal Government seeks to widen access to long-term financing for infrastructure and economic growth.
Taiwo Oyedele, Minister of Finance outlined the proposals at the S&P Global Ratings Africa Summit in Lagos, arguing that fragmented financial markets across the region are restricting the ability of countries to attract the scale of investment required for major development projects.
The proposed framework would cover Nigeria and Ghana, alongside eight francophone countries that share the CFA franc and a common central bank: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
At its centre is a regional passport regime that would enable issuers approved in one participating market to raise capital in other member countries without obtaining separate regulatory approvals in each jurisdiction.
Oyedele also proposed a unified investor identification system, allowing investors registered in one country to purchase bonds and equities across participating markets without repeating registration and onboarding procedures.
The minister said regional trading, settlement and payment infrastructure should also be connected to allow securities transactions to settle directly in local currencies, reducing reliance on the US dollar for cross-border transactions.
The proposals extend to the creation of a regional local-currency bond index and a credit-enhancement facility to support infrastructure financing across national borders.
Oyedele said existing initiatives, including the West African Capital Markets Integration Council, the African Exchanges Linkage Project and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), already provide a foundation for deeper integration.
“The task now is to join these pieces together,” he said.
The framework is intended to address the limitations of individual markets, which Oyedele said were not sufficiently deep on their own to attract the volume of long-term investment needed to finance infrastructure and support economic expansion.
The proposals also align with Nigeria’s broader capital-market ambitions. Oyedele said the country was targeting investment-grade credit ratings within three years and a capital market worth at least $1 trillion under its 10-year capital-market plan.
He said the government wanted to make Nigeria a more attractive destination for domestic and international investors.
The proposed regional arrangement would give issuers access to a wider pool of investors while reducing some of the regulatory and operational barriers to cross-border investment.
Oyedele’s proposals remain at the planning stage, with participating countries yet to align their regulatory, investor registration, trading and settlement systems to establish the regional framework.
Related News
Source: