The single Cemac stock exchange is set to be operational by June 30, 2019.

Following a decision of the Cemac Heads of State to unify the Stock Exchange of Central Africa (BVMAC) in Libreville, Gabon, and Douala Stock Exchange (DSX) in Douala, Cameroon, modalities for its operation have been set up.

Discussions to that effect took place during the 4th meeting of the Pilot Committee of the Economic and Financial Reform Programme of Cemac in Douala January 29, 2018.

The Stock Exchange of Central Africa served the same purpose as Cameroon’s national stock exchange, the Douala Stock Exchange, with almost identical technical resources and procedures.

Studies that proposed the merger were carried out by a team of French consultants of the Roland Berger firm as part of mission by the Central African Market Supervising Commission (Cosumaf).

The meeting harped essentially on the legal, institutional and technical modalities for the merger, as well as identified risk factors that may delay the merging, notably the cost involved in bringing together the different components and redeploying workers.

A roadmap for implementation of the modalities to come up with just one stock exchange was elaborated. It was resolved that between January and June 2019 the structure to be based in Douala should go operational.

Experts recommended a technical unit attached to the Pilot Committee of the Economic and Financial Reform Programme of Cemac to be set up, the recruiting of an independent firm to propose measures for the implementation of the merger, as well as the need to solicit development partners to help fund the merger process and the finalisation of the merger process within a maximum of 18 months, by June 30, 2019.

Finance Ministers of the sub-region will meet in Douala February 2 to examine the recommendations for a possible approval.

In 2011, the African Development Bank (AfDB) proposed a merger to permanently stop the competition launched several years ago between the two stock exchanges. AfDB held that BVMAC should be moved to Douala, Cameroon, where economic activity is greater and Cosumaf should be maintained in Libreville.

The merger is one of the resolutions taken at the end of the extraordinary summit of Heads of State in N’Djamena. The single Cemac stock exchange is expected to generate some 1,000 billion by 2020. Both has FCFA 200 billion.