Stanbic Bank Botswana is the Diamond Sponsor of the inaugural Bond Market Conference to be held on October 6, 2016, the bank has said. The conference is the brainchild of the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) and the Botswana Bond Market Association (BBMA), with a view towards bringing together relevant stakeholders to engage in discussions around developing and nourishing the bond markets.
The bank’s head of Corporate & Investment Banking, Sheperd Aisam, who will serve as one of the Chairs of the Conference said they are honoured to come on board as the Diamond sponsor for such a prestigious and meaningful platform as this.
He added that their excellent business pedigree in lead arranging, bookrunning and trading of Bonds in secondary market saw it only natural for a partnership with the BSE and BBMA.
“Our involvement is buttressed by a strong and growing Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) franchise which continues to play a pivotal role in the advancement of the local bond market. The bank acknowledges its fiduciary duty to the development of our financial markets and national economy,” Aisam said.
“As Stanbic Bank Botswana, our 24-year presence in Botswana has seen strong growth in this space, and this is supported by further expertise through Standard Bank Group, allowing us to demonstrate our wealth of insight and experience in the bonds markets. We are passionate about working with our fellow stakeholders to grow and develop the bonds market to its full potential.”
Bond markets have been a stable and reliable source of long term financing for both governments and corporates in Botswana and the world at large, serving as a mechanism for the transformation of savings into financing for the real sector, thus addressing longer tenor funding gap that banks may not be able to participate in.
The conference serves as a platform at which to forge relationships between domestic and international stakeholders in the bond market, allowing for capacity building, benchmarking and harmonisation of debt market related developmental strategies. In addition, the Conference will work to create value for members of the BBMA with a view to solicit continuity of their support towards the bond market strategies of the BSE and BBMA.
“We look forward to informative discussion and learning from key stakeholders in this space, including but not limited to: Government and Ministerial officials, Central Bank, Custodians, Corporate Issuers, Development Finance Institutions, Asset Management Institutions, and Legal Consultants,” added Aisam.
Additional delegates will include Corporate Finance Advisors, Regulatory Authorities, Treasury Departments, Pension Funds, and Brokers. “These are valued partners and stakeholders of Stanbic Bank, and their contribution remains paramount to the growth of the bond markets and our wider economy. Working together to achieve this mutually beneficial, singular objective is vital, and platforms such as this inaugural conference are a welcomed opportunity to gain greater traction in this regard,” he said.
Amongst some of the topical issues to be addressed during the conference are: the building blocks of a robust bond market, opportunities for infrastructure funding through the bond market, promoting an efficient regulatory environment, efficiency and liquidity of the secondary market, and developing the repo market. Anticipated participants and speakers will include representatives from African Development Bank (AfDB), Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, Botswana Insurance Fund Management (Bifm) and the BSE.