(3 minutes read)
· The newly merged Central African Stock Exchange is determined
to play an important role in accelerating the listing operations of
the sub-region to shore up the market capitalization
· On October 31 last year at an extraordinary summit of the
CEMAC heads of state, it was decided that the two stock markets
–Libreville Exchange in Gabon and Douala Exchange in Cameron – would
merge into one great market place for the sub-region.
The newly merged Central African Stock Exchange is determined to play
an important role in accelerating the listing operations of the
sub-region to shore up the market capitalization. Some months ago, as
reported by www.trendsnafrica.com, two stock exchanges in the region
have been merged to pave the way for a single entity.
On October 31 last year at an extraordinary summit of the CEMAC heads
of state, it was decided that the two stock markets –Libreville
Exchange in Gabon and Douala Exchange in Cameron – would merge into
one great market place for the sub-region. Along with the merger of
the stock exchanges, regulatory bodies of the two financial markets
got subsumed into one. After the merger, the hosting of the first
listing took place last February this year. Now, the Stock Exchange
wants to accelerate the listing operations of the sub-region. It also
wants to go for routine daily operations instead of three weekly
operations as of now.
Since the merger, the stock exchange has benefited from a growing
curve. The volume of securities traded was nearly US$33 million. The
overall market capitalization and outstanding bonds added to more than
US$1.25 billion. This may be a very small amount in terms of trading
and market capitalization compared to peers across the world or even
compared to the Nigeria’s Lagos Exchange. Jean Claude Ngbwa, who is
the Director General of the Central African Unified Stock Exchange, is
optimistic that the both trade volume and market capitalization would
go up phenomenally since the region is witnessing a spurt in the
number of enterprises, which are gearing to tap the capital market
for their expansion and diversification purposes.
