(Agence Ecofin) – 2025 promises to be a pivotal year for the BRVM. After a year 2024 marked by rapid growth in its main index, the West African stock market is preparing to accelerate its ambitious projects, particularly the derivatives and raw materials market.
With a successful IPO this year and another in progress, the Abidjan-based Regional Securities Exchange (BRVM) ended 2024 on a historic note. With an increase of 28.89% in its main index, the BRVM Composite, the UEMOA stock exchange, which now hosts 47 companies, confirms its positive dynamic, despite a global economic context marked by the after-effects of the COVID crisis -19 and the fight against inflation.
The market capitalization of the stock market now reaches 10,078.68 billion CFA francs (around $16 billion), compared to 7,966.96 billion at the end of 2023. This represents an increase of 26.51%, a gain of more than 2 100 billion CFA francs in one year.
The bond market, which contributes to the long-term financing of the region’s economies, also shows growth, with a capitalization of 10,532.37 billion CFA francs (+2.23%). Market transactions followed this upward trend, with total value up 16.19% compared to 2023.
This dynamic strengthens the position of the BRVM which now represents 15.12% of the GDP of UEMOA countries, compared to 9.17% in 2012. This figure, however, remains much lower than that of its Johannesburg counterparts (around 300% of South African GDP) or Casablanca (41%).
In 2024, the BRVM confirmed its status as the fifth African stock market, behind those of Johannesburg, Casablanca, Lagos and Cairo.
The year 2024 was also marked by major advances in innovation. In 2025, the BRVM will introduce the BRVM Composite Total Return index, a tool that integrates dividends into the calculation of performance, a first in the region. Edoh Kossi Amenounve, the general director of the BRVM, expects this instrument to be more attractive to portfolio managers and to offer a global perspective of the profitability of listed companies.
Another strategic turning point: the revision of the sectoral classification and the creation of new indices, with the aim of strengthening the readability of performances by sector.
Looking ahead to 2025, strategic projects are underway, notably the development of derivatives and raw materials markets. With these initiatives, the stock exchange, which brings together the eight WAEMU countries, intends to diversify its offer of financial products and respond to a growing demand for investor sophistication in a market where liquidity still remains low and investor bases are limited. .
On March 6, 2024, the BRVM signed a memorandum of understanding with the Montreal Stock Exchange (MX), one of the leaders in derivatives in North America, to benefit from its technical assistance in this project. The operationalization of the Agricultural Commodities Exchange (BMPA) in Côte d’Ivoire, long delayed, is also awaited. The pilot phase was to focus on the trading of products such as raw cashew nuts, corn and fresh kola nuts.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
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