Hopes of building co-operation among Africa's diverse stock markets have suffered a setback, as the Johannesburg exchange was forced to cancel a high-profile conference due to lack of interest.

The JSE Securities Exchange, Africa's biggest stock market, was hoping to get the continent's exchanges together at the end of September.

The JSE undertook to host the African Stock Exchange Association Conference this year, as part of its commitment to boosting the region's profile among international investors.

But the exchange said it had not received sufficient interest to justify going ahead with the conference.

"Support from African countries did not materialise as expected," it said in a statement.

Lack of links

The problem is that with 50 countries, 20 exchanges and few common financial standards, Africa's share markets are suffering a lack of foreign investment.

To counter this, the JSE is eyeing alliances with the eight other southern African exchanges.

The Cairo Stock Exchange is also trying to push forward with similar plans, while in West Africa, a regional exchange is already up and running in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

But most efforts so far have come to nothing.

The Cairo exchange's gleaming new state-of-the art premises, built last year, stand empty.

And in Nigeria, the Stock Exchange and its domestic rival, the Abuja Stock Exchange (ASE), have clashed over trading rights for some shares.

The ASE, despite being launched on 2 May, has failed to conduct a single trade and the government is now considering forcing the two to merge to rebuild investor confidence.