Nigerian Stock Exchange Joins United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative
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Mexico City, Mexico
Announcement Underscores Drive to Enhance Corporate Sustainability in Africa
(Mexico City, 29 October 2013) – The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today announced that it has joined the UN’s Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative. The announcement was delivered on the sidelines of the World Federation of Exchanges annual conference in Mexico.
The NSE is the third stock exchange from Africa to join the SSE, and eighth worldwide. Other exchanges that are part of this pioneering group include BM&FBOVESPA (Brazil), the Bombay Stock Exchange, Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange, Egyptian Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, NASDAQ OM and New York Stock Exchange Euronex.
NSE Chief Executive Officer Mr. Oscar Onyema pledged to promote corporate sustainability among NSE-listed companies: “The Nigerian Stock Exchange is honored to collaborate with the SSE initiative,” he said. “This is in line with our commitment to create sustainable value for our stakeholders and we are confident that this partnership will be pivotal to our goal towards entrenching sustainable business practices.”
“Nigeria is the second biggest economy in Africa and a critically important market for promoting sustainable development practices in the region,” said James Zhan, Director of UNCTAD’s Investment and Enterprise Division, at the event. “We are delighted that the Nigerian Stock Exchange is joining its peers from South Africa and Egypt, as well as other leading exchanges around the world, in pledging to promote sustainable business practices.”
With 258 listed securities and a current market capitalization of USD 114 billion, the Nigerian Stock Exchange is Africa’s second largest financial center after the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Co-organized by UNCTAD, the United Nations Environment Programme's Finance Initiative, United Nations Global Compact and UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, the SSE initiative explores how stock exchanges can work together with investors, regulators and companies to enhance corporate transparency – and ultimately performance – on environmental, social and corporate governance issues, and encourage responsible long-term approaches to investment.
The announcement comes amid renewed efforts by the UN Global Compact to scale up corporate sustainability in Africa. A UN Private Sector Forum was held in September 2013 to focus on the role of the private sector in the post-2015 UN development agenda, emphasizing unique opportunities and challenges in Africa. A new Africa Sustainability Barometer also gauges corporate sustainability reporting in Africa and provides the first benchmark for the state of sustainable business practices on the continent.
For more information about the SSE initiative, please visit www.SSEinitiative.org.
Contacts
PRI / UN Global Compact
Danielle Chesebrough
Manager of Investor Engagements with the UN Global Compact
Danielle.Chesebrough@unpri.org
UNCTAD
Anthony Miller
CSR Focal Point, Division on Investment and Enterprise
anthony.miller@unctad.org
+41 22 917 5802