"The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is certainly Africa's leading financial centre today ><." Recent assertion by a British financial analyst may well be undermined by Brexit. Of course, the
status as a hub of international finance acquired by the United Kingdom since the dawn of capitalism
will not be called into question in the medium term. But will it be able to continue to provide its wide range of
services to African investors, particularly in the field of initial public offerings (IPOs)?
"Even if the existing mechanisms are perfectly oiled and well identified by the business communities,
other financial routes may be to be considered," says our expert.
On the side of African companies, perceived as riskier by a British market that has become itself
more cautiously, the time seems to be at wait and see. The number of those who choose London for their entry
the stock market has already fallen year after year since the 2016 referendum, and competition is exacerbating
with the financial centers of China, the Middle East or the United States. Scheduled for the end of October,
the introduction of Afreximbank in the British capital has been delayed, "pending more
favorable," according to the company. Faced with the uncertainties of the moment, the South African Naspers went to list
some of its subsidiaries in Amsterdam, when Nigerian Jumia preferred New York. "Other places can be
benefit in Europe or elsewhere, but also in Africa, observes Guillaume Arditti, founder of the firm Belvedere
Africa Partners, à Paris. Brexit may provide the necessary impetus to develop certain markets in depth
scholarship holders and financiers across Africa. Johannesburg of course, but also Nairobi, Lagos and the Stock Exchange
Abidjan's Regional Securities Exchange (BRVM) could play a more prominent role in IPOs, at
the future. »
The IPO of Nigerian online payment operator Interswitch, expected in 2020, represents
in this regard a full-scale test for London, in competition with Lagos on this issue. "The United Kingdom
will certainly lose some trades in the coming months, but no African stock exchange will offer
never the same access to capital as the LSE," our British analyst wants to believe. As if to better reassure, and, with it, the entire financial industry of the United Kingdom.