• Guinea’s central bank has relaunched the creation of a national stock exchange.

• The reform aims to expand long-term financing in local currency and reduce exposure to foreign exchange risk.

• A similar effort in the late 1990s stalled amid inflation and macroeconomic instability.

Guinea is making a renewed attempt to build a national stock exchange, reviving a project that stalled nearly three decades ago amid macroeconomic turbulence and weak investor confidence.

On March 1, the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea (BCRG) announced it had formally launched the process of establishing a national securities exchange. The move reflects a broader effort to modernize the country’s financial system and deepen domestic sources of funding.

According to the central bank, the new market is designed to open an additional financing channel for the economy. It would allow companies and the state to access long-term capital in local currency, reducing exposure to foreign exchange risk. Businesses would be able to raise funds through the issuance of shares and bonds, while the government could tap the market to finance public investment programs.

Reform as the Foundation

This renewed push rests on a restructuring of the legal and institutional framework governing financial markets. In December 2022, a workshop focused on revising the securities market law laid the groundwork for the reform. At the time, the BCRG governor described the absence of a stock exchange as a missing piece in Guinea’s financial architecture.

Discussions emphasized the need for a framework aligned with international standards. The reform aims to regulate public offerings, strengthen market supervision, and define the role of capital market participants.

The existing legal structure — including the 1997 law on the securities industry and a 2015 directive on public offerings — was deemed inadequate for supporting a fully operational stock market. In response, the central bank launched a regulatory modernization process with support from the African Development Bank. A consultant was recruited to update the legislative framework and prepare for the introduction of new financial instruments and capital market activities.

The stated objective is to establish rules that can secure financial transactions and create an environment capable of attracting both domestic and international investors.

Learning From a Failed First Attempt

Guinea’s ambition to create a stock exchange dates back to the second half of the 1990s. That effort led to the adoption of a securities market law on November 25, 1997, and plans for the creation of the Conakry Stock Exchange.

But the project never materialized. The period was marked by weak economic growth, expansionary fiscal policy, and a rapid increase in the money supply. These factors fueled inflation and broader macroeconomic instability. In that environment, private sector confidence remained limited, and the financial market initiative stalled.

Today’s revival takes place in a different policy context. Guinean authorities have undertaken reforms in public finance management, monetary policy, and exchange rate policy. By relaunching the stock exchange project within this reform framework, the central bank is signaling that the success of the initiative will depend less on ambition than on institutional credibility and macroeconomic discipline.

Chamberline Moko