KIGALI, Rwanda – The East African Community (EAC) is looking at developing a regional capital markets infrastructure which is aimed at integrating the region’s capital markets. writes AGNES BATETA.

“We will not have a single East African exchange but we do believe we can have an integrated EA capital market infrastructure working with our different regulators, the market participants and our capital markets,” Secretary General EAC Richard Sezibera said during a discussion held during the EAC capital markets conference held in Kigali recently.

Sezibera said, “This is an important agenda and one of the areas in which East Africa has moved fast forward and is moving increasingly in the area of harmonization and integration”.

“We believe to deepen the capital markets for EAC; we need to make sure that our standards are benchmarked against international standards. We might be developing the regional standards but these must be strongly benchmarked against international standards,” Sezibera said.

EAC is aimed at widening and deepening integration among the five member states which include Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi.

“For the widening part, EAC over the last few years has formed the Customs Union with the Single Customs Territory, it has a common market and the monetary union which was signed in 2013, and a 10-year road map that will introduce in a single currency,” Sezibera said.

According to Sezibera, the deepening part of it especially in the common market and the capital markets integration agenda is based on six pillars.

“EAC is engaged in financial inclusion and strengthening of market participants, harmonizing financial laws and regulations against common standards, encouraging mutual recognition of supervisors and adoption of best standards such as benchmarking all EAC countries’ capital markets against the international organization of securities commissions,” Dr. Sezibera said.

Source: East African Business Week

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