By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-International law firm, Baker & McKenzie on Friday said if companies in Nigerian, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco and Tunisia who planned to do initial public offerings (IPOs) do so, the number of listings could rise by a quarter in 2015, a Reuters report said.

According to the report, Baker & McKenzie said 30 firms are planning to list this year in African bourses compared to 24 recorded last year.

It said that in 2014, the number of IPOs had already risen by a third to the highest level since the global financial crisis, raising a total of more than $2 billion.

The law firm affirmed that shares on many African bourses have offered enticing returns in the past five (5) years, but investors have complained about a limited number of IPOs, high fees and poor liquidity.

Baker & McKenzie disclosed that companies in real estate, financial and energy sectors were expected to be most active in the above named African bourses.

Reuters in a report it saw on Friday quoted Koen Vanhaerents, global head of capital markets at Baker & McKenzie as saying “While there have been several false dawns for capital markets across Africa’s diverse economies and making predictions is notoriously difficult, we do see a more sustainable trend developing.”

The report said Vanhaerents noted that improved corporate governance, better regulation and expanding economies were creating a more sound footing for African capital markets.

According to Reuters, the report disclosed that some listings, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, would be driven by private equity exiting investments.