The International Development Secretary has today welcomed London’s
first African convertible bond at the opening of the London Stock
Exchange. In an address to investors from London and Lagos, Ms.
Patel said that “trade, investment and finance have helped to
transform the prospects for the world’s poorest countries”.
In her keynote speech to the Nigerian Capital Markets and Banking
Forum, Ms. Patel highlighted achievements made since the launch
of DFID’s Economic Development Strategy in January, which set out
the Government’s priorities for establishing new trade,
investment and economic relationships, with a focus on ending
poverty and supporting job creation in the world’s poorest
countries.
These included:
- DFID’s continued commitment to CDC, allowing the UK’s
Development Finance Institution to invest much-needed capital
into thousands of African and South Asian businesses, to create
millions of jobs and generate taxes;
- the partnership between DFID-backed Private Infrastructure
Development Group and the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Authority to
create InfraCredit Nigeria – providing guarantees to encourage
Nigeria’s pension funds to invest long-term, local currency
finance into infrastructure projects;
- a £15 million investment by Financial Sector Deepening
Africa, a Nairobi-based non-profit funded by DFID, in a fund
allowing African firms to issue bonds in their own currencies for
the first time, so they can invest, expand and create jobs, safe
from the risk of currency fluctuations;
- and the announcement today that EcoBank, a CDC investee which
now serves 13.7 million customers across 36 African countries, is
raising $150 million of additional investment by issuing the
first African convertible bond on the London Stock Exchange.
International Development Secretary said:
The City of London leads the world in supporting the
high-growth economies of the future, with the London Stock
Exchange supporting job creation and opportunities in Nigeria.
I am urging the international private sector to lead the new
job creating economic revolution by investing in the long-term
potential of the Nigerian market.
Ending aid dependency and creating new markets for trade,
investment and inclusive growth will lead to a more prosperous
world for us all.
Ms. Patel was addressing the Nigerian Capital Markets and Banking
Forum, a day-long conference held by the London Stock Exchange in
collaboration with the Nigerian Stock Exchange and in partnership
with Afrinvest.
