By THE INDEPENDENT UG
KAMPALA, Uganda | Xinhua | Uganda maintained its fourth position in the Africa Financial Markets Index 2023, securing a score of 63 out of 28 countries surveyed, as per the survey conducted by the Absa Group. The results, released in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, on Tuesday, highlighted that Ugandan government bonds were included in the FTSE Frontier Emerging Markets Government Bond Index, enhancing their visibility in the global market.
Within the East African region, Uganda secured the top spot, with Kenya following closely with a score of 59, Tanzania at 55, and Rwanda at 44.
The survey further revealed that South Africa claimed the leading position on the continent with a score of 88, Mauritius secured the second spot with 77, and Nigeria took the third position with a score of 67.
David Wandera, the executive director of Absa Bank Uganda, revealed during the release of the survey that Uganda, while maintaining its fourth position, experienced a decline in its overall score from the previously recorded 64 in the last financial survey. This decline was primarily attributed to a decrease in foreign exchange reserves and liquidity.
Wandera explained that the survey assesses financial market development in various countries, emphasizing economies with the most supportive environments for effective markets.
Jeff Gable, the chief economist at Absa Group, highlighted that the index, now in its seventh year, has become a benchmark for the investment community to assess African countries’ market infrastructure. It is also utilized by policymakers to learn from developments across the continent. Absa Group, a South African-based financial services group, is responsible for the index.
Gable pointed out that slightly more than half of the countries in the index have seen an improvement in their scores year on year. Additionally, over 20 countries in the index have now adopted some form of environmental, social, and governance-linked financial policies.
Discussion about this post