STOCK exchanges in Africa have adopted a joint rule governing the listing of equities in the capital market and pledged to support their growth, said a statement released in Nairobi this week. Participants at the two-day Annual Conference of the African Stock Exchanges Association (ASEA), called for sustained efforts to create and support institutions facilitating the growth of African stock markets and said there needed to be concerted and sustained efforts to change negative foreign investor perception of African markets, through road shows by African companies and stock exchanges. Urging African leaders to demonstrate their political commitment to the economic integration efforts by implementing all integration decisions faithfully, the participants appealed to African countries to gradually liberalise and automate their markets. – AFP