The companies with the highest stock market capitalization in the Caracas Stock Exchange

The Caracas Stock Exchange (BVC) ended 2022 with a market capitalization of $1,4 billions, a 2.9% increase compared to the previous year, according to calculations from the “Pulso Bursátil” newsletter.

To put the size of the BVC into context, it’s worth considering that the total value of all traded stocks (market capitalization) is nearly the same as that of Corporación Financiera Colombiana ($1.3 billion), a financial company listed on the stock exchange of that country whose capitalization is over $85 billion.

With high inflation, trading only in bolivars, and restricted bank credit, the Caracas Stock Exchange survives, and some companies stand out in its small world, especially banks.

Thus, the state-owned Banco de Venezuela ended 2022 as the company with the highest market capitalization at $517.4 million, followed at a distance by three other banks, BNC, Provincial, and Mercantil. In fifth place is a non-financial company, Ron Santa Teresa. That quintet of companies accounts for 71% of the national stock market.

Ranking changes

The ranking underwent changes compared to 2021, as BNC, whose market capitalization rose 44%, displaced Provincial (-13%) from second place. Ron Santa Teresa remained in fifth place, despite a 14% drop in its market capitalization, while Invaca (-19%) took sixth place. On the other hand, at the end of 2022, Bancaribe (-7%), Corimon (25%), and Envases Venezolanos (1%) entered the top 10, which were not listed in the previous year and left out Mampa (-64%), Grupo Químico (-48%), and Productos EFE (-14%).

Another significant fact is that the gap between first and second place widened. In 2021, the market capitalization of Banco de Venezuela was 1.8 times higher than the next (Provincial), and a year later, it became 3.17 times higher, except that the second place changed names, and now it’s occupied by BNC.