The Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), which serves the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), has reached a record market capitalisation, reflecting rising investor activity and improving confidence in the region’s capital markets.

The exchange, headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, has seen its equity market value rise to around $21.2bn as of October 15, an increase of more than 29% this year. Including government and corporate bonds, the total market value stands at around $23.8bn.

“Over the past five years, the performance of this market has been 197.98% (+39.33% in 2021; +24.23% in 2022; +5.38% in 2023; and +26.51% in 2024), leading to a total market capitalization (equities + bonds) of 23,979.92 billion CFA francs, strengthening the weight of the BRVM in the regional economy, with a level equivalent to around 17.78% of WAEMU GDP,” the bourse said.

“Today [October 15], the key indicators of the BRVM point to a market among the most attractive on our continent, with the BRVM Composite Index (BRVM-C) showing a 22.29% increase since the start of 2025. The market’s average P/E ratio of 13.01 confirms a competitive level in line with emerging market standards and demonstrates the ability of listed companies to create value for their shareholders.”

The BRVM-C tracks the performance of the top 10 companies listed on bourse. The performance has been driven in part by gains among the exchange’s largest listings. Sonatel, the Senegal-based telecoms operator, remains the BRVM’s biggest constituent and accounts for roughly one-fifth of total equity capitalisation. Another telecom, Orange Côte d’Ivoire is the second-largest listed entity.

The banking sector also retains a significant presence, with Société Générale Côte d’Ivoire and Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire among the most actively traded financial stocks. Ivorian companies account for the majority of listed companies and trading volumes.

The BRVM has benefited from stronger balance sheets in the banking sector, stable dividend policies among telecom groups and increased participation from domestic pension and insurance funds.

“This momentum is driven by several key factors, including the favourable growth outlook of WAEMU member countries, the easing of monetary conditions by the BCEAO [Central Bank of West African States], the listing of two new companies in less than six months, capital increases by certain banks, and the general rise in the prices of listed securities supported by the regularity of dividend distributions by nearly all listed companies,” the bourse said.

“With these indicators, the BRVM confirms and consolidates its place as the 5th largest stock exchange in Africa, while strengthening its attractiveness and strategic position in the continental financial ecosystem.”

The CFA franc’s peg to the euro has also helped support foreign investor interest by reducing currency volatility compared with other frontier markets. However, liquidity remains limited and secondary trading is concentrated among a small group of large-capitalisation issuers.

Established in 1998, the BRVM operates on a single trading platform with harmonised listing and supervision rules administered by the Regional Council for Public Savings and Financial Markets (CREPMF), WAEMU’s capital markets regulator.

The exchange is fully electronic and is widely regarded as an example of regional financial integration, as it allows issuers and investors across all eight WAEMU countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo) to access the same market infrastructure under a common currency, the CFA franc.

Sometimes described as the world’s only fully integrated multi-country stock exchange the operating under a single regulatory framework, similar cross-border exchange groups exist elsewhere, though typically with separate national listing rules or clearing systems.