Investing in Côte d’Ivoire

The regional UEMOA stock exchange (BRVM), operated within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), enables trading in shares and bonds. Shares can generate dividends and capital gains. Bonds are issued, among others, by governments, companies, financial institutions and regional or international issuers, and pay interest or a fixed repayment amount. There are also green, social and sustainable bonds, sukuk, convertible bonds, securitization funds and licensed investment funds. These OPCVM include FCPs and SICAVs focused on shares, short-term bonds, medium- and long-term bonds, contractual investments or mixed portfolios. Alternative investment funds are permitted only if approved by the AMF-UMOA. Public debt securities are offered through the Public Securities Market (Marché des Titres Publics, MTP). BATs have a maturity of less than two years. OATs are used for medium- or long-term financing; official sources use different thresholds for the distinction—more than two years or more than three years—so the relevant issuance notice determines the classification. A BAT has a nominal value of 1,000,000 West African CFA francs (FCFA), while an OAT has a nominal value of 10,000 FCFA. Investors subscribe to these securities through a licensed bank or a licensed financial intermediary (Société de Gestion et d’Intermédiation, SGI). After the auction, the MTP publishes the result within 24 hours at the latest. Secondary-market trading takes place through licensed intermediaries, including specialized primary dealers. For exchange-traded securities, the investor opens a securities account and a cash account with a licensed intermediary. Only an SGI executes orders on the BRVM. The securities are held digitally and settled through the regional infrastructure of DC/BR and the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). After an execution, the intermediary issues a transaction statement; quarterly, the investor normally receives an overview of securities holdings, cash holdings and transactions. The money must be available before a purchase, and the securities must be in the account before a sale. Before making a selection, the investor checks the intermediary’s authorization with the regional financial markets authority, the prospectus or information note (Note d’Information), the issuer’s financial statements, dividends or coupons, maturity, tradability, interest-rate risk, solvency, fees and taxes. For a fund, the management company, custodian, net asset value and redemption conditions should be reviewed. A suitable investment depends on the investment horizon, liquidity needs and risk tolerance. Individual issuers, real estate, sectors or countries should not determine the entire portfolio. Investments in FCFA reduce currency mismatch within the UEMOA; investments outside the region require a separate review of exchange rates, access and costs. Real estate can be purchased, held, developed or rented out. For urban land, the state deed conveying full ownership from the public land estate (Attestation de Concession Définitive, ACD) is the administrative act that conveys full ownership. Before a purchase, the ACD status, the plot location, an approved subdivision plan, cadastral details, the seller’s identity and possible encumbrances should be checked. The ACD service fee is 90,000 FCFA per plot plus 1,000 FCFA per file for an individual, and 250,000 FCFA per plot plus 1,000 FCFA per file for a company. The official processing time is not specified. For crypto-assets, the reviewed official sources do not identify an established, directly regulated local investment route. BCEAO publications from 2026 discuss crypto-assets and tokenization as emerging issues for regulation and financial stability, not as an established access route for private investment transactions. E-money and payment accounts are not investment products. Informal offers, private systems and informal savings circles (tontines) cannot be classified as equivalent regulated investment forms on the basis of the available sources. Intermediary fees are generally freely set but must be approved by the regional financial markets authority. The transaction statement normally shows brokerage fees, BRVM and depository and settlement commissions, taxes and the net amount; account-maintenance and management fees vary by provider. Certain BAT and OAT terms may provide investors resident in Côte d’Ivoire with an exemption from income tax on returns, while the specific issuance determines the applicable treatment. Risks include price and dividend losses on shares, default and interest-rate risks on bonds, limited tradability, exchange-rate losses, settlement and custody problems, fund and redemption risks, land disputes, development risks, fraud and, for crypto offers, cyber and regulatory losses. The regional financial markets authority supervises the market and handles complaints; BRVM, the depository and settlement infrastructure, BCEAO, the regional public-securities agency (UMOA-Titres) and the authorities responsible for land titles each perform different functions.