Stock exchanges in Latin America - statistics & facts

Stock exchanges provide the infrastructure and technology to enable the public trade of financial products and are essential platforms for companies to raise capital and to facilitate investment opportunities for individuals and institutions. Despite playing a crucial role in the region's economic development and global financial integration, stock exchanges in Latin America are not as developed as the ones in other emerging markets. Chinese stock exchanges, for instance, have grown to become among the most active worldwide in recent years. Stock exchanges in Latin America, on the other hand, struggle to reach their full potential due to several economic, political and social factors: Instability, crises, high income inequality, and limited access to financial services continue to impact the region's development.

Struggling to attract new listings

These shortcomings discourage companies, both domestic and foreign, from looking to be listed on stock exchanges in Latin America. The B3, Brazil's stock exchange, is the largest stock exchange in Latin America, both in terms of total market capitalization and in terms of number of listed companies. However, the number of companies on the exchange has not increased significantly in recent years, meaning that the development in market capitalization is mainly due to the change in market value of the already listed companies. The same trend can be observed in other stock exchanges in the region. The Mexican Stock Exchange, the second largest, faces the same issue: The number of domestic listed companies has been fluctuating between 130 and 140 since 2010. The Santiago Stock Exchange and the Colombia Stock Exchange, the third and fourth largest in Latin America, have seen the number of listed companies decline in recent years, and the market capitalization of both exchanges fell since the highest levels reached in 2010 and 2012.

Largest public companies in Latin America

As the most developed economies and having the largest exchanges, Brazil and Mexico are also home to the largest companies in Latin America in terms of market capitalization. The ranking of the most valuable companies in the region is dominated by Brazilian and Mexican companies. Also, the majority of these companies operate in the financial, telecommunications, or energy and natural resources sectors. The company with the highest market capitalization, the Brazilian Petrobras, a state-owned multinational corporation operating in the petroleum industry, is also one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world. The second largest company in the region in terms of market cap, America Movil, is the leading telecommunications company in Mexico, while the largest public companies in Chile and Colombia are the Sociedad Química y Minera - a chemical company - and Ecopetrol - a petroleum refineries company.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Feb 29, 2024

Key insights

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Leading IPO bookrunner
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