African Equity Markets

Recent years have witnessed a significant increase in interest in African stock markets. In particular, over the last decade, stock exchanges in this Continent have experienced a rise in market capitalisation, a growth in trading volume and an increase in the number of listed companies (Standard & Poor's, 2009). In addition, share trading on a lot of these stock exchanges has been automated and the settlement period for share transactions has been reduced. Furthermore, laws which discouraged foreign investors from purchasing equity stakes in local African companies have been reformed in many countries in this Continent (Alile, 1996) and regulations have been introduced to strengthen share ownership rights and avoid disputes over share transactions. As a result of these changes, interest in equity ownership among local African investors has grown. Indeed, new shareholder associations have sprung up in several countries while existing associations have grown in size (Amao and Amaeshi, 2007). However, very little is known about the current performances of these exchanges following the changes that have taken place. The current e-book of Managerial Finance attempts to fill this gap.