Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières
The Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) is the exchange of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). It was opened on September 16, 1998 as the world's first regional exchange and is based in Abidjan .
The financial center was realized by the UEMOA and the West African Central Bank with the technical and financial support of the World Bank and the governments of France , the USA and Canada . The foundation goes back to an agreement from 1973 on the creation of a regional financial market. But it was not until 1994 that the decision on the financial center was made and in October 1997, after extensive negotiations, a council for public savings and financial markets met, which prepared the opening a year later. The facility replaced the Abidjan Stock Exchange , which ceased trading on December 31, 1997.
The exchange handles exchange trading for the countries of Benin , Burkina Faso , Ivory Coast , Guinea-Bissau , Mali , Niger , Senegal and Togo . 39 companies are listed on the BRVM and a total of 968 securities are traded (June 2006). The clearing house is the Banque de Reglement . Three trading days a week are offered: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. However, the volume traded in the financial center is low.
There are no restrictions for foreign investors, but the acquisition of company shares that exceed one percent in value must be announced.
The leading indices offered by the exchange are the BRVM 10 and the BRVM Composite . There are also other indices for various market segments: BRVM - Industry, BRVM - Financial, BRVM - Public, BRVM - Agriculture, BRVM - Distribution and BRVM - Other Sectors.