The Tunis Stock Exchange reaches out to public companies

Speaking on October 23 at a conference on the theme “Tunisia at the bottom of the wave… the overhaul of financial policy for an inclusive recovery”, organized on the occasion of a Financial Economy Forum, by the The Institut des Hautes Etudes (IHET) and the “Daily Trading Forum” group, the general manager of the Tunis Stock Exchange (BVT) pleaded for the introduction of public enterprises.

“I think that the idea of ​​listing public companies operating in competitive sectors on the stock exchange, and proposed to the social partners, including the UGTT (Union), has not met with refusal on their part, provided they guarantee preservation of jobs and employee benefits, ”said Bilel Sahnoun.

The Tunis Stock Exchange has implemented a series of reforms to increase its level of participation in the financing of the economy. “In emerging or developing countries, the financial market participates up to 30% in the financing of the economy, while in Tunisia, for decades, this contribution has never exceeded 10%”, estimated Mr. Sahnoun.

The market capitalization of the Tunisian financial center represents 22% of GDP against 50% on average in emerging countries. Since the start of 2020, the Tunindex, the flagship index of the Tunis Stock Exchange, has shown a drop of 6% in its composite index against 14% for the MASI, indicator of the neighboring Casablanca (BVC), much more exposed to foreign investors.