- Bondholders received CFAF 99.4 billion in coupon payments in 2025, accounting for nearly 97% of all income distributed to BVMAC investors.
- Coupon payments rose 28.7% even as bond-market activity weakened, with lower outstanding debt, trading volumes and transaction values.
- The equity market moved in the opposite direction, with higher market capitalization, trading activity, liquidity and dividend payments.
In 2025, bonds generated most of the income paid to investors through the Central African Stock Exchange, or BVMAC. Coupon payments, the interest paid to bondholders, reached CFAF 99.405 billion ($176.2 million), up from about CFAF 77.2 billion in 2024, an increase of 28.73%.
The increase came despite weaker activity across several bond-market indicators. At the same time, the six companies listed on the BVMAC paid a combined CFAF 3.415 billion in dividends to shareholders, up from CFAF 2.831 billion in 2024. That represented an increase of 20.63%.
In total, holders of shares and bonds listed on the BVMAC received about CFAF 102.8 billion in 2025 from bond coupons and dividends combined. Bonds accounted for nearly 97% of that income. Coupon payments to bondholders were nearly 29 times higher than dividends paid to shareholders. Investor income on the BVMAC therefore came overwhelmingly from bonds, reflecting the much larger role of debt securities in the regional market.
Coupon Payments Rise Despite Weaker Bond Market Activity
Bond-market activity weakened across several measures in 2025. The total outstanding amount of listed bonds fell to CFAF 1,305.3 billion at the end of 2025 from CFAF 1,490.8 billion in 2024, a decline of 12.44%. The number of bonds traded also fell 21.80% to 1.47 million. Trading value declined 24.16% to CFAF 12.815 billion, from CFAF 16.897 billion a year earlier.
The rise in coupon payments therefore did not reflect stronger secondary-market activity. Rather, it reflected payments made on outstanding bonds under the terms set at issuance. The BVMAC report attributes the decline in outstanding bonds in part to scheduled repayments on existing sovereign bond issues and a slower pace of new issuance. The bond market can therefore distribute more income to investors even as the value of outstanding bonds and secondary-market trading decline.
Equity Segment Rebounds
The BVMAC equity segment posted stronger activity in 2025. The number of listed companies remained unchanged at six, while their combined market capitalization rose 7.94% to CFAF 477.7 billion, from CFAF 442.6 billion in 2024.
Free-float market capitalization increased 8.23% to CFAF 69.6 billion. Trading activity also strengthened. The number of shares traded rose 51.10% to 23,817, while trading value increased 18.92% to CFAF 740 million. The number of transactions reached 594, up 65.92%. The overall liquidity ratio rose to 1.59%, from 1.05% in 2024.
The exchange itself also reported higher revenue, which increased 5.82% to CFAF 927 million, while total assets rose 10.88% to CFAF 8.113 billion.
The 2025 figures point to sharply different trends across the BVMAC’s two main markets. Equity trading volumes, market capitalization and liquidity increased, while the bond segment recorded declines in outstanding securities and trading activity.
Chamberline Moko