The Tunisian Financial Market Covers Only 5 to 10% of the Economy's Needs
The Tunisian financial market only covers 5 to 10% of the economy's needs, compared to 30% in similar countries and up to 60% in developed economies, warned Bilel Sahnoun, General Manager of the Tunis Stock Exchange. He spoke at the national conference "Tunisia 2.0: Reinventing Economic Attractiveness and Business Environment", recently organized by CONECT.
Current State of Financing in Tunisia
Today, banks provide nearly 95% of financing, but they are showing signs of exhaustion. The Stock Exchange, on the other hand, has only 75 listed companies, mostly from the financial sector, while economic pillars like tourism, agriculture, or energy are absent. As a result, the stock market capitalization is capped at 20% of GDP, far from the average of 50% observed elsewhere.
Proposed Solutions
To reverse this trend, Sahnoun calls for reforming the regulatory framework, diversifying financial instruments (derivative products, commodity markets, IT), and introducing mandatory listing on the Stock Exchange for certain large companies, similar to American or Indian practices. According to him, this measure would stimulate transparency, governance, and capitalization.
Unlocking Tunisia's Potential
Tunisia has promising sectors capable of shining regionally. However, without administrative simplification, modernization of financing, and improvement of governance, the country will remain trapped in a survival cycle, unable to transform its potential into sustainable growth.
