(Ecofin Agency) - After five years of poor performance, the BRVM Composite index, which includes all companies listed on the Abidjan Stock Exchange, is back with a record increase. The improvement was supported by generous dividends and the hope that 2021 will be another rewarding year for investors.

The Abidjan Regional Securities Exchange (BRVM) is close to achieving its best performance since 2013, we learned from market data. As of December 7, 2021, the BRVM Composite index, which includes all the companies listed on the market, was up 35.25%, according to information provided by African-Markets. This not only marks the end of five years of negative performance but is also higher than 2014 and 2015 when it increased by 11.2% and 17.8% respectively. When compared to all African markets, the BRVM Composite ranks fourth in terms of performance, and second behind Ghana, when the stock exchanges of Zimbabwe and Lusaka (Zambia), which do not have a certain level of market valuation, are excluded.

This dynamic, which should increase the attractiveness of the BRVM for investors, comes in a year where dividend distributions are on the rise after the already generous year 2020, despite the covid-19 context. As of September 30, 2021, the aggregate value of dividends distributed by companies listed on this market had already reached CFA321 billion ($553.6 million), higher than what was distributed in 2020 as a whole.

Broadly, the overall performance of the BRVM Composite was also supported by the rise in the values of companies such as Nestlé and Société ivoirienne des Tabacs, which achieved the largest valuation increases of all listed companies in Africa. The company's most recent results support a continued positive outlook for the performance of the BRVM composite.