BRVM Investment Days JOHANNESBURG

The Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), one of the world’s most successful regional stock exchanges, linking eight West African countries with a stable currency and fast growth, is coming to South Africa to outline investment opportunities. The BRVM, headquartered in investment destination Côte d’Ivoire, will meet South African fund managers and market experts on March 14 at “BRVM Investment Days in Johannesburg” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This exclusive investor forum is the first stop of a global 2018 BRVM roadshow which will continue to London on May 2 and New York City on September 20. It will provide an opportunity for potential investors to get insights on regional economies – the IMF forecasts growth at 6.5% or 6.6% a year across the region until 2021 – and on sectors, shares and key investment themes. It is a unique opportunity for South African institutions to learn more about the potential of Africa as regional links become stronger.

Speakers include Dr. Edoh Kossi Amenounve, BRVM CEO, and the CEOs of listed companies and securities such as SONATEL (SNTS) represented by its Finance Director Mr. Diop Aboubacar Sadikh, as well as BOA Group (BOAB, BOABF, BOAC, BOAM, BOAN, BOAS), ETI (ETIT), BOAD, Brokers (SGI) and Asset Managers (SGO) etc.

They will outline strategic developments on the exchange, including: investor-friendly trading and disclosure, working with London and Casablanca stock exchanges to boost growth companies in the region, and a board for mining companies after big discoveries in the region.

Other speakers active on the BRVM or in the region include Dominic Bruynseels, Regional CEO West Africa for Standard Bank, Samira Mensah, Associate Director of Standard & Poor's Global Ratings and Michael Barnes, Head of Sales and Trading at African Alliance.

WAEMU combines eight West African countries with a population of 110 million: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. WAEMU shares a single currency, the CFA franc, which is linked to the value of the euro (EUR), and a single central bank and capital markets regulator.

Dr. Amenounve says: “South African investors are taking increasing interest in the opportunities in Africa as the world’s long-term growth story. The West African region offers fast, diversified growth and interesting lessons on regional development and economic linkages. In our countries, demographics, development, technology and increasing productivity all offer opportunities and the regulated exchange market offers liquidity and support to investors.”

The BRVM has 45 listed companies and is Africa’s sixth biggest exchange in terms of market capitalization with $12.5 billion in shares listed at end December 2017, plus 32 government and corporate bonds and five sukuk.