Luxembourg, Cape Verde Stock Exchanges Sign MoU on Sustainable Finance

In a hybrid signing ceremony, held jointly in Luxembourg and Capo Verde on Wednesday 23 February 2022, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) and Bolsa de Valores de Cabo Verde (CVSE) announced that the two exchanges have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The MoU was signed in the presence of Cape Verde’s State Secretary for Business Development Adalgisa Vaz, Cape Verde's Ambassador to Luxembourg Carlos Fernandes Semedo, Chargé d’Affaires of Luxembourg in Cape Verde Thomas Barbancey and the Head of UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF joint office Steven Ursino, as well as the two institutions’ senior leadership teams.

This MoU is the first official agreement between CVSE and LuxSE, making the announcement a milestone for both institutions. It will facilitate cooperation in capital market activities, with a specific focus on sustainable finance.

Via the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), the world’s leading platform dedicated to sustainable securities, LuxSE will support the growth of sustainable finance in Cape Verde through knowledge exchange, capacity building, educational programmes and the sharing of best practices. 

"We are pleased to enter this partnership with Bolsa de Valores de Cabo Verde. This landmark cooperation agreement reflects our strategy of expanding LuxSE's international footprint and cooperating with selected exchanges across the world to accelerate the growth of sustainable finance and contribute to making sustainable finance truly global. CVSE is taking important steps to support the blue economy in the region and we look forward to further exploring new fields of cooperation in sustainable finance", commented LuxSE CEO Julie Becker.

The agreement is a testament to the increasing focus on building strong international relationships between developed economies and emerging markets, particularly in the sustainable finance sphere, as highlighted during COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021.

In partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), CVSE is developing Blu-X, a platform dedicated to promoting the listing of sustainable financial instruments with a specific focus on the blue economy. Through Blu-X, CVSE has set out to become one of the leading venues for sustainable finance in Africa and especially for Lusophone countries.

CVSE CEO Miguel Monteiro explained: "This partnership with LuxSE, for which we are very pleased, will play a key role in the development and consolidation of the sustainable financing project that the Cabo Verde Stock Exchange has in progress – the Blu-X project, and for the development of the national market for sustainable securities in general. Given the knowledge and experience that LuxSE has in this matter, this partnership will bring significant gains to CVSE, the capital market and the country’s sustainable development". 

The agreement between the two exchanges was made in a context of increased cooperation between Luxembourg and Cape Verde. Luxembourg is one of the island state’s leading partners in Europe and is investing in Cape Verde’s green transition through various development programmes.