Namibia Securities Exchange (NSX) to Provide LEIs Africa-wide on pTools LEILex Platform

Dublin/London/Windhoek/Kuala Lumpur (20th November 2024) – Namibia Securities Exchange (NSX) has announced today, at the World Federation of Exchanges General Assembly and Annual Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, its initiative to provide Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) across Africa on the pTools LEILex platform.

pTools LEILex platform is an LEI affiliate solution launched by pTools Software, the leading provider of Market Information AI automation solutions for Exchanges. Namibia Securities Exchange is one of Africa’s largest exchanges and, as a pTools LEILex partner-affiliate, will provide LEIs across the African continent. This is a significant development and represents a first in terms of a continent-wide agreement. pTools LEILex platform will enable the Namibia Securities Exchange to extend service and provide LEIs in all 54 African countries. The partnership underscores pTools’ achievement in recent years in helping clients address the ever-increasing requirement for LEIs worldwide and ensure efficient issuance of LEIs for organizations engaging in international trade.

The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) comprises a 20-character alphanumeric code, adhering to the ISO 17442 standard formulated by the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO). This code serves as a crucial link to essential reference details, facilitating a distinctive identification of legal entities participating in financial activities. Embedded within each LEI is comprehensive ownership structure data that clarifies the question of ‘who is who’ and ‘who owns whom’.

Tiaan Bazuin, CEO of Namibia Securities Exchange, commented, “I am delighted to be partnering with pTools and LEILex to be supplying LEIs to the African market. The NSX has long believed in smart partnerships and sees this as the newest in a long line of partnerships. We also believe we can supply LEIs to a broader market than just Namibia and invite other African exchanges to join us in this partnership as we are in a position to extend this partnership to them as well.”

Tom Skinner, pTools Managing Director and Chairman, commented, “Our work in LEI now extends to more than a decade. The partnership with NSX represents the next important step in a process that sees us helping clients across the planet provide and manage LEIs. This partnership underpins our LEILex initiative and offers an extraordinary opportunity to help develop the provision of LEIs across the continent of Africa. I want to thank and credit Mr. Tiaan Bazuin for his vision and commitment. It is a great joy to work with someone of his calibre and energy, and I look forward to our work together in the coming years.”

Keith Wood, CEO at pTools Software, added, “This collaboration between pTools LEILex and NSX underscores the importance of establishing a reliable framework for financial operations and LEI and vLEI in Africa, empowering exchanges and businesses alike to adopt the LEI standard. This will not only provide clarity and efficient identification of legal entities but also enhance the integrity of financial transactions throughout the continent. Our role is to underpin the initiative with technology that seamlessly supports NSX and LEI client companies throughout the process from application requests to company verification and on to renewals. I look forward to working with the team at NSX and see this as just the beginning of our work together.”

This partnership will mark a notable advancement in cultivating a secure financial market ecosystem in Africa while emphasizing the vital role and urgency of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) within the sector. Through this partnership, pTools, LEILex, and Namibia Securities Exchange aim to streamline the understanding and adoption of LEIs across financial organizations, facilitating the transition to this essential framework in Africa.

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