'Capital Markets and the covid-199 pandemic: Resilience, efficiency and prospects' is the theme of a conference that took place on Friday online from Abidjan.

The main speaker was Félix Edoh Kossi Amenounve, Ceo of the BRVM (Regional Stock Exchange) and President of  the African Securities Exchange Association (ASEA).

"In the context of the health crisis, global stock exchanges are being put to the test as to their ability to digest the information that is disseminated and to reflect the true value of listed securities," Said Amenounve during his speech.

In the first five months of 2020, almost all stock markets in the world have registered lower, with an accentuation during the month of March, which has seen a strong spread of the pandemic.

African stock markets have also followed the downward trend in the markets, driven by the pandemic.

"It appears that the continent's stock exchanges are impacted as their economies depend on the sectors most affected by this health crisis, including tourism, distribution, the agricultural sector, and the extractive industry of both minerals and oil," said the head of the Abidjan Stock Exchange.

In general, all markets are down over the period from January to May 2020, with the exception of the NASDAQ in connection with the spectacular rise in technology stocks, whose importance has more than proven during the lockdown period.

However, the BRVM has been less volatile than most foreign stock exchanges in this pandemic context, recalled Félix Edoh Kossi Amenounve.

"Our market thus demonstrates, like other African stock exchanges, its resilience and its ability to support States and the private sector, in the face of their post-COVID-19 financing needs," he said.

The Director General of the Bourse common to the 8 WAEMU countries is already planning for the future.

The real challenge is to put finance and its various tools at the service of human well-being, in order to ensure humanity a better life and a strong capacity for resilience to various shocks.