NAMFIN-X fails to launch

Plans by former Minister of Finance Mr. Helmut Angula and co-investors for a possible second bourse appear to have gone nowhere after the regulator in the non-banking sector, the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority this week told the Economist its reasons behind the refusal by the regulator to grant it permission.
NAMFISA spokesperson Mr. Isack Hamata briefly explained why the regulator did not approve NAMFIN-X’s application. “We confirm that an application was lodged with NAMFISA to issue a license for a second stock exchange to NAMFIN-X. Kindly, however, note that such application was not approved as it did not comply with Section 8 of the Stock Exchanges Control Act of 1985.”
Hamata added that NAMFIN-X also did not make a second attempt to re-apply.
The Economist contacted Mr. Angula who did not respond to questions by the time of publication despite making a commitment to.
In October 2014 Angula told Bloomberg NAMFIN-X planned to recruit as soon as the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority approved it application. “It is a matter of how soon they can process the application and grant the license. We know it is quite a lengthy process, but we hope it will not be too long,” said Angula at the time.
Explaining the rationale behind the second exchange, Angula said it would broaden and deepen Namibia’s financial and capital markets, making it easier for companies to raise funds from investors, and could provide a means of keeping the savings of citizens within the country.
NamFin-X originated in May 2012, when the 10 founding applicants submitted their application to the Registrar of Stock Exchanges. It received approval from the Ministry of Finance in September of that same year. At the time, NAMFIN-X comprised of 10 persons of which 5 were Namibian corporate entities, four individuals, and 1 international corporate investor, aimed at giving local investors as much as 60% of ownership.