A Stock exchange is a

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

mutual organization A mutual organization, or mutual society is an organization (which is often, but not always, a company or business) based on the principle of mutuality and governed by private law. Unlike a true cooperative, members usually do not contribute ...

which provides facilities for stockbrokers and traders to trade stocks and other

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

. It may be a physical

trading room A trading room gathers traders operating on financial markets. The trading room is also often called the front office. The terms "dealing room" and " trading floor" are also used, the latter being inspired from that of an open outcry stock exc ...

where the traders gather, or a formalised communications network. Creation of a stock exchange is a strategy of

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

: it provides a means of raising capital for investment. Stock markets may enhance economic activity through the creation of

liquidity Liquidity is a concept in economics involving the convertibility of assets and obligations. It can include: * Market liquidity, the ease with which an asset can be sold * Accounting liquidity, the ability to meet cash obligations when due * Liq ...

: a liquid equity market makes investment more attractive because it allows individuals to acquire equity and when required to sell it quickly and cheaply. At the same time, companies enjoy permanent access to capital raised through equity issues. It has been found that countries that open stock markets grow faster, on average, than the control groups. An alternative view is that

market liquidity In business, economics or investment, market liquidity is a market's feature whereby an individual or firm can quickly purchase or sell an asset without causing a drastic change in the asset's price. Liquidity involves the trade-off between the ...

may also hurt economic growth, because it encourages short-termism. A downside of raising capital on a stock exchange is that it may result in loss of company control, typically to powerful large investors. Foreign ownership of securities and assets is often unappealing. Extremely low income levels keep share ownership beyond the reach of most people in developing countries. Countries without a stock exchange include

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. The

Mongolian Stock Exchange The Mongolian Stock Exchange (MSE) (Mongolian language, Mongolian: Монголын Хөрөнгийн Бирж/''Mongolyn Khöröngiin Birj'') is Mongolia's sole stock exchange. It is based in Ulaanbaatar and was established in January 1991 by the ...

was the world's smallest stock exchange by market capitalisation.

Planned

Angola

The Angola Debt and Stock Exchange (Bodiva) is a stock exchange in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. First announced in 2006, the Stock Exchange was hoping to open during the first quarter of the 2008 fiscal year, though in August 2008

Aguinaldo Jaime Aguinaldo Jaime (born January 15, 1954) is an Angolan political figure and economist. He served as Minister of Finance from June 1990 to April 1992,

Afghanistan Stock Exchange

Afghanistan Stock Exchange is part of the planned Economic development of Afghanistan. It will operate Afghanistan's first liquid exchange to offer the most diverse array of financial products and services. AFX will bring together cash equities exchanges and foreign exchanges, to be the leader for listings, trading in cash equities, equity and

interest rate derivative In finance, an interest rate derivative (IRD) is a derivative whose payments are determined through calculation techniques where the underlying benchmark product is an interest rate, or set of different interest rates. There are a multitude of diff ...

s, bonds and the distribution of market data in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. As a stock exchange market is supposed to have four types of deals: cash, mutual fund, stocks and bonds but practically AFX is only capable of Forex deals.

New or revised

Maldives Stock Exchange

The Maldives Stock Exchange, is a private sector Stock Exchange in

Malé Malé (, ; dv, މާލެ) is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 252,768 and an area of , it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern ...

. It was first established on 14 April 2002. It is very small, with only 10 companies listed.

Iraq Stock Exchange

The Iraq Stock Exchange was incorporated and began operations in June 2004. It operates under the oversight of the

Iraq Securities Commission Iraq Securities Commission, (ISC) is an independent public commission that oversees the activities of licensed securities markets, one of which is the Iraq Stock Exchange The Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX), formerly the Baghdad Stock Exchange, is a ...

, an independent commission modeled after the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

. Before the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, it was called the Baghdad Stock Exchange and was operated by the Iraqi Ministry of Finance. Now it is a self-regulated organization like the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

, owned by the 50 or so member

brokerage firm A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...

s. The trading floor is now open six hours a week. Trading is done with pen and paper. Buyers shout at or call into their brokers, who stand their white

dry-erase board A whiteboard (also known by the terms marker board, dry-erase board, dry-wipe board, and pen-board) is a glossy, usually white surface for making non-permanent markings. Whiteboards are analogous to blackboards, but with a smoother surface all ...

s that list each company's share buy and sell price. This continues despite plans to implement

electronic trading In finance, an electronic trading platform also known as an online trading platform, is a computer software program that can be used to place orders for financial products over a network with a financial intermediary. Various financial products c ...

. Trading was suspended for several months in 2006 due to violence, and is subject to power outages. The ISX opened to foreign investors on August 2, 2007.

Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange

The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. It was incorporated in September 1996 and trading started in April 1998; it is a member of the

African Stock Exchanges Association ThAfrican Securities Exchanges Association(ASEA) was incorporated in 1993 in Nairobi (Republic of Kenya). ASEA's aim is to provide a formal framework for the mutual co-operation of securities exchanges in the African region. Its functions include th ...

. There are currently 27 listed

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

Douala Stock Exchange

The Douala Stock Exchange is the official market for

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. It is located in

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the com ...

. It was created in December 2001. Until 2006, its sole listing was Société des Eaux Minérales du Cameroun (SEMC). Now it also includes Société Africaine Forestière et Agricole du Cameroun (SAFACAM).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stock Exchanges Of Small Economies Stock exchanges Economic development