Does Bolivia Have a Stock Market? All the Details & Facts to Know

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The stock market of Bolivia, all the facts, numbers and details
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Last Updated on February 15, 2025

While Bolivia has laws permitting the existence of stock markets, along with a company that operates the country’s stock exchange, it also faces significant limitations, inefficiencies, and a cultural environment that doesn’t readily embrace these financial instruments, either by local investors or businesses. Consequently, the Bolivian stock market is often a last resort for Bolivian companies and individuals.

Bolivia does have a stock market, called the BBV, but it’s very small and has minimal impact on the Bolivian economy. With only 51 publicly listed companies, an equity market capitalization of $14.59 billion, and a lack of stocks available for investors, this stock market is often not very useful for either locals or foreigners.

Here, we’ll discuss the Bolivian stock exchange, how it operates, its key features, interest returns, regulations, and participants. You’ll understand why this stock market is so small, how foreigners can participate, and whether it’s worthwhile to do so, among other aspects and details.

Yes, Bolivia Has Its Own Stock Market

Bolivia does indeed have a stock market, called the Bolsa Boliviana de Valores S.A. (Bolivian Stock Exchange), or BBV. However, it’s extremely small compared to the Bolivian economy, *with only a few dozen participating companies*. This stock market is also minuscule when compared to international markets like NASDAQ or similar exchanges.

Furthermore, the Bolivian stock market isn’t government-run; it’s managed by a private company. Despite this, anyone can invest in the Bolivian stock market, and some investment fund firms focus primarily on this activity.

You can find the official website of the BBV (Bolsa Boliviana de Valores S.A.) here:

It’s worth noting that the BBV isn’t widely used as an investment vehicle by the general population in Bolivia, *as it typically offers annual return rates of around 4.5%*. It’s also rarely used by most companies as a financing method, due to the complex application process, among other reasons.

Can Foreigners Participate in the Bolivian Stock Market (BBV)?

In theory, individuals from overseas can participate in the Bolivian stock market in two ways:

  • As individual investors. By acting as investors and purchasing bonds or debt promissory notes (not actual stocks) in this market, they can earn interest and other related income from the public company.
  • As public companies. By becoming publicly listed companies on this stock market, they can obtain financing and attract investors. Technically, both Bolivian and foreign companies can enter this stock market, *but it’s very difficult and rarely done*, as we’ll explain later.

Therefore, the first way for you as a foreigner to participate in the Bolivian stock market is by investing in it through the purchase of securities. To do this, *you will always require a valid Bolivian visa*. The appropriate visa for this purpose is the Multiple Visa (Visa Múltiple), though other types of visas may also permit investment.

We have a detailed guide about all the Bolivian visas that allow you to invest in the Bolivian stock market (BBV), including the Multiple Visa, Work Visa, and others, available here: [Link].

In theory, the second way to participate in the Bolivian stock market is as a publicly listed company. *However, this process is virtually non-existent in Bolivia for both Bolivian and foreign companies*. As mentioned earlier, the BBV only has around 50 publicly listed companies out of the nearly 300,000 operating within the country.

Bolivian Stock Market vs. Top Global Stock Markets

Now, let’s compare the Bolivian Stock Market (BBV) to other international stock markets worldwide.

1) General Performance

In 2021, the BBV stock market had only 51 listed S.A. companies (S.A. is analogous to a C corporation in the US). Combined, these companies had a total market capitalization of $14.591 billion ($14.6 billion). As you can see, this stock market is *extremely small* compared to international stock markets.

You can view all the current public companies (S.A.) listed on the BBV here:

Furthermore, *throughout the history of the BBV stock market*, only two entities have ever issued stocks with variable returns. Therefore, stocks are currently “absent” from the Bolivian stock market, and only bonds and similar instruments are available to investors. Out of the approximately 300,000 companies in Bolivia, only around 10,000 are S.A. companies, and only two of those *have ever* been financed through stocks.

We must also caution you that the Bolivian stock market (BBV) is not as accessible for investment as well-known international stock markets. It’s a rather complex process *always requiring the use of a brokerage firm* as an intermediary, for both locals and foreigners.

Therefore, the Bolivian stock market is indeed very small, *lacking both stocks and investors*. It primarily offers bonds, and its impact on the Bolivian economy is *almost negligible*.

Additionally, the BBV lacks user-friendly accessibility and real-time information tools, making it very difficult for the average person to even attempt to invest in this stock market.

As we mentioned, only bonds and debt promissory notes are currently available in the Bolivian market, primarily issued by the largest banks in Bolivia, as well as by very large public companies and the government itself, offering fixed returns over time. Therefore, as you would expect, the returns are very low, as these are very safe financing instruments.

2) Return Rates

The return interest rates in the Bolivian stock market (BBV) generally range between 3% and 6%, *though in very rare cases, they can reach up to 7.5%*. These rates are quite low compared to the average return rates of around 9% for common index funds in the United States.

3) Overall Risk

On the other hand, the overall risk of the Bolivian stock market is significantly lower than in other markets. However, as you might expect, the relationship between risk and return also applies here. Therefore, for *the bonds and debt promissory notes exclusively available* in this market, *which are generally very safe*, you’ll only receive around 4.5% in annual returns.

4) Size Comparison

The BBV Bolivian stock market has a total equity market capitalization of about $14.6 billion, which is insignificant compared to the size of international stock markets like the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ, with total assets of $22.11 trillion and $17.23 trillion, respectively.

Therefore, the Bolivian stock exchange (BBV) is approximately 1/1300th the size of these two other international stock exchanges, or about 0.13% of their size.

5) Brokerage Firms

Currently, the Bolivian stock market *has two primary brokerage firms* that handle nearly 80% of all transactions made in this market. These two companies are:

  1. Bisa S.A. Agencia de Bolsa (Bisa Stock Brokerage).
  2. Santa Cruz Securities Agencia de Bolsa S.A. (Santa Cruz Securities Stock Brokerage).

The remaining 20% of transactions and investments are handled by other types of brokers, such as SAFIs (investment fund companies) and Bolivian pension administrators (AFPs).

Bolivia stock market regulators BBV and main brokerage firms
Top: The Bolivian stock market (BBV). Right: The ASFI regulator. Left and bottom: The two main brokerage firms.

Caption: Top: The Bolivian stock market (BBV). Right: The ASFI regulator. Left and bottom: The two main brokerage firms.

6) Regulations

The Bolivian stock market is currently regulated by the ASFI government entity. This entity is responsible for regulating all banking and financial systems in Bolivia, *including any stock markets that may be available at a given time*.

The legal framework for the creation and existence of stock exchange markets in Bolivia is Law No. 1834, “Ley del Mercado de Valores” (Securities Market Law). You can download it at the following link:

This is a very outdated law (from 1998), and as a result, it’s currently restricting and negatively impacting the development of the stock exchange market in the country.

Other Details About the Bolivian Stock Market

The following are other important facts and details about the Bolivian Stock Market:

  • The Bolivian Stock Exchange Market is owned and managed *by a private company* called Bolsa Boliviana de Valores S.A., or BBV S.A. (Bolivian Stock Exchange).
  • It was founded in 1978 but only began operations in 1989.
  • Currently, this market has very few publicly listed companies, specifically 51 firms.
  • In this market, stocks with variable returns *have been traded only twice throughout its entire history*.
  • Only fixed-income securities are traded on the BBV, such as bonds, debt promissory notes, and similar financing instruments.
  • Its total equity market capitalization is approximately $14.6 billion.
  • Currently, the companies participating in this market are primarily banks, government-owned companies, and other well-established, long-standing firms.
  • In Bolivia, there’s a lack of a culture of investing in stocks or financing entrepreneurship through them.
  • The regulations are quite outdated and don’t adequately support stock exchange markets in Bolivia.

Conclusions:

In this guide to the Bolivian stock exchange, you’ve learned that it exists and is owned and operated by a private company called Bolsa Boliviana de Valores S.A., or BBV. However, you’ve also realized that it’s extremely small compared to the Bolivian economy and has almost no impact on the country, its people, or Bolivian companies.

You’ve discovered that this stock market has traded actual stocks with variable returns only twice in its history, and almost exclusively, transactions involve bonds, debt notes, promissory notes, or similar fixed-income instruments. Additionally, this stock market currently has only 51 publicly listed companies, most of which are banks and government entities.

You’ve also learned some figures about the Bolivian stock market, with its equity market capitalization being around $14.6 billion, interest rate returns ranging from 3% to 7%, almost all of which come from bonds, promissory notes, and similar instruments. Compared to international stock markets, the BBV is very small, representing about 0.13% of their size.

Finally, you’ve realized that it’s technically possible to invest or be listed as a public company on the Bolivian stock market, but most of the time, it’s very difficult. In many cases, it’s not worth the time and effort for either locals or foreigners, although this may vary depending on your specific circumstances.

We hope this information has been helpful. If you’d like to learn more about the best advice and tips for investing in Bolivia, including the most promising sectors and industries, risks, and strategies from our perspective as Bolivians, please visit our dedicated guide here: How to Invest in Bolivia? The Best Strategies and Available Fields.

CasasenBolivia.com, information on living, working, investing, and traveling in Bolivia.

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