Only three African stock markets have crossed the $100 billion market-capitalisation threshold, highlighting the concentration of the continent’s listed equity market and South Africa’s overwhelming lead over its regional peers.
South Africa’s stock market stood at $1.49 trillion as of September 21, down 0.6 percent from $1.5 trillion recorded on May 15, according to data compiled by BusinessDay.
Its market is more than 12 times the size of Nigeria’s $122 billion market and over 13 times larger than Morocco’s $111.09 billion exchange.
Nigeria has strengthened its position as Africa’s second-largest stock market, with market capitalisation rising 4.27 percent from $117 billion on May 15 to a record $122 billion.
Morocco, meanwhile, remained broadly unchanged at $111.09 billion, leaving a gap of about $11 billion between the Nigerian and Moroccan markets.
The sharp contrast between the three markets above $100 billion and those below the threshold becomes even more pronounced further down the ranking.
Egypt, Africa’s fourth-largest stock market, had a market capitalisation of $83.5 billion, up from $81 billion in May, while Botswana rose to $80.6 billion from $75 billion over the same period.
The next tier is significantly smaller. The BRVM, the regional exchange serving several West African economies, had a market capitalisation of $36.76 billion, while Kenya’s Nairobi Securities Exchange climbed to $31.9 billion from $25 billion in May.
Ghana also edged higher to $23.46 billion from $22 billion, while Tunisia and Tanzania stood at $15.8 billion and $15.18 billion, respectively, compared with $12.6 billion and $13 billion in May.
The figures underline the heavy concentration of Africa’s listed equity markets.
South Africa’s $1.49 trillion market is larger than the combined market capitalisation of the other nine exchanges in the ranking by a wide margin, underscoring the depth and scale gap between the continent’s largest market and its peers.
The disparity is even more striking at the company level.
BHP Group Ltd, the largest listed company on the South African market, has a market capitalisation of about $219.19 billion — almost twice the entire Nigerian market and roughly equivalent to the combined value of Nigeria and Morocco.
Despite the wide differences in market size, African equities have gained momentum this year.
Daba Finance, in a recent report, said African stock markets had recorded “one of their strongest performances in recent history”, with equities delivering double-digit gains in local currencies across the continent.
“Many markets also generated exceptional returns in US dollars and euro terms,” the platform said, attributing the performance to currency stabilisation, easing inflation in key economies and renewed global appetite for frontier and emerging-market assets.
The latest figures point to a two-speed African equity market: a trillion-dollar South African giant, two markets above $100 billion and a much larger group operating well below that threshold.
Nigeria has moved further above the $100 billion mark since May, while Morocco remains close behind. But the continent’s overall market-capitalisation landscape remains defined by the enormous gap between South Africa and its regional peers.
