BEIJING, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- African countries have witnessed a bull stock market in the past years despite volatile regional situation and the influence of the U.S. subprime credit squeeze.

Statistics indicated that in the past five years, the African stocks increased 210 percent and are listed among the fastest growing stock markets globally, said an article in People's Daily.

In Egypt, the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) said recently that the Egyptian stock market registered a 51-percent growth in 2007, the sixth consecutive rise for the North African stocks. The increase had reached the unprecedented 155 percent in 2005.

The CASE currently lists more than 1,000 companies and has market capitalization of over 120 billion U.S. dollars, making it the second largest stock exchange in Africa, only behind the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), according to the article.

On Jan. 13 this year, Egypt's benchmark CASE 30 index broke the11,000-point level for the first time in more than a century. The index rose to 11,080.89 points during the session before closing at 11,035.09.

The strong momentum in Egyptian stock markets offers a glimpse into the robust African stock markets in recent years.

In fact, the African stock markets as a whole are among the best regional stock markets in the world in the past 15 years, second only to Eastern Europe. Despite their relatively small size, their performance even excels those in Europe and East Asia in the past decade, according to British media reports.

Some experts noted that investing in African stock markets has gradually become an important option for many investors in global capital allocation.

Analysts attribute the strong performance and potential of the African stock markets to the steady and fast economic growth of the whole African continent.

With the deepening of economic reform in recent years, the GDP in countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia rose swiftly, adding to the incredible growth in stock markets.

By official count, the number of stockholders in Kenya have soared from less than 50,000 in 2002 to the present 780,000. The gross market value of the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) rose from 1billion dollars in 2002 to the present 12 billion dollars.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) economists forecast last October that the economies of sub-Saharan Africa would see 6.8-percent growth in 2008. The region registered increase of 5.7 percent and 6.1 percent in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
   
The IMF said that rising oil prices have accelerated investment in African countries such as Angola. Other nations have also benefited from higher prices for such commodities as gold and copper.

Despite the aftermath of the recent post-election violence in Kenya, which has the largest economy in East Africa, President of African Development Bank Donald Kaberuka was optimistic about the continued growth of the African economy in 2008. He estimated a 6.5-percent growth for this year.

Source: Xinhua