After decades of Leftist misrule, only two Venezuela ADRs were still listed on the OTC market’s Grey or Dark Markets.* At one point, there were fewer than twenty listed Venezuelan stocks on what was left of the Caracas Stock Exchange with little trading actually occurring. Ironically and despite hyper inflation, rigid currency controls and socialist expropriations of private property, the tiny Venezuela stock market was the world’s best performing market (up 452%) in 2013.
In a 2021 Caracas Chronicles article (“The Caracas Stock Exchange: an Investment Oasis or a Mirage?”), it was noted:
The activity in the Caracas Stock Exchange or Bolsa de Valores de Caracas (BVC) has become a key talking point of the Venezuelan government’s latest campaign to lure international investors…
…In 2017, only four companies were issuing debt in the stock market, and now there are 32. In 2021, four new players joined the stock exchange, and two of them have private capital funds aimed at securing financing for the development of new corporate projects.
The total amount of daily trades varies between 250 and 300 which, as mentioned, is very small, but it’s three times the amount of 2017 (109) and 25-50% more than in 2020 (200). Weekly trades don’t hit the $500,000 mark…
…The BVC’s market capitalization exceeded the $3 billion peak before the pandemic, and in 2020 plummeted to $1.2 billion. In 2021, it recovered significantly—and it’s nearing the $2 billion mark…
IF regime change or actual reforms ever occur, perhaps surviving BVC and OTC stocks could become the first Venezuela stocks available to foreign investors.
In addition, a recent Undervalued Shares article (Venezuela – a multi-bagger recovery play?) noted another way to profit from investing in Venezuela:
An easy way to buy legal claims against Venezuela
Long-time Undervalued-Shares.com readers will already be familiar with the idea of buying distressed debt. They will also be familiar with the concept of litigation funding, which I described in great detail in a report that I shared with Undervalued-Shares.com Members in March 2022 (and which centred around a multi-billion dollar legal claim against Argentina). In essence, someone with a large legal claim who doesn’t have the money to pursue the claim in court can get the costs of the legal case financed by someone else in exchange for a profit share if the case is won.
In the case of Venezuela, there is an almost forgotten stock trading in Canada that allows investors to combine the two. Rusoro Mining (ISIN CA7822271028, CA:RML) is a company that used to operate a gold mine in Venezuela, but which nowadays is effectively dormant, except its ongoing lawsuit against the Republic of Venezuela.
Investors interested in investing in Venezuela ADRs should also check out our Latin America ETF list (region wide), Caribbean ETF list and South America ETF list along with our Caribbean closed-end fund list and Latin America closed-end fund list (region wide) as some region wide ETFs and closed-end funds may have exposure to Venezuela stocks.
*GREY MARKET: “”OTC”, “Other OTC” or “Grey Market” is a security that is not currently traded on the OTCQX, OTCQB or Pink markets. Broker-dealers are not willing or able to publicly quote OTC securities because of a lack of investor interest, company information availability or regulatory compliance.”
*DARK or DEFUNCT MARKET: Companies that may not be able or willing to provide disclosure to the public markets – either to a regulator, an exchange or OTC Markets Group.
List of Venezuela ADRs Trading on Major US Stock Exchanges & the Over-the-Counter (OTC) Exchange
| Company | Ticker | Exchange | Industry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Banco Venezolano de Crédito | BVZCY | Delisted | Financial Services |
| 2 | Ceramica Carabobo SACA | CCOOY | Delisted | Basic Materials |
| 3 | Corimon CA | CMNFY | Delisted | Basic Materials |
| 4 | Fondo de Valores Inmobiliarios SACA | FNDOY | OTCGrey | Real Estate |
| 5 | Manufacturas de Papel CA | MDPAY | Delisted | Basic Materials |
| 6 | Mercantil Servicios Financieros CA | MSFJY | Delisted | Financial Services |
| 7 | Mercantil Servicios Financieros CA | MSFZY | Delisted | Financial Services |
| 8 | Siderurgica Venezolana Sivensa SACA | SDNVY | OTCGrey | Steel |
* EmergingMarketSkeptic.com provides useful information that should not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to invest. In addition, your use of any content is entirely at your own risk and it is your sole responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of the content. Read More
Note: If there are any ADRs to add or remove from this list or there are bad links, please write a note in the comments section so it can be fixed. Likewise, adding any other comments or advice would also be appreciated.
The Caracas Stock Exchange or Bolsa de Valores de Caracas (BVC)
The first Venezuela stock exchange was founded in 1805 as the Casa de Bolsa y Recreación de los Comerciantes y Labradores in Caracas. Today’s Caracas Stock Exchange or Bolsa de Valores de Caracas (BVC) was founded in 1947 and is the only stock exchange in Venezuela. However, the BVC has experienced a severe decline in traded volumes since the mid-1990s as Venezuela’s economy declined under the rule of Leftist strongman Hugo Chavez.
Venezuela Stocks and Investing Resources
Here are some useful and mostly English news resources for investing in Venezuela ADRs or stocks or about Venezuela in general:
- Agencia Venezolana de Noticias (AVN)
- América Economía (Venezuela)
- Caracas Chronicles
- Correo del Orinoco International
- El Nacional
- El Universal
- Últimas Noticias
In addition, Gustavo Díaz (who, by day, apparently works at a Home Depot in Alabama) runs a website called DolarToday which publishes Venezuela currency rates for black-market dollars – thus impacting the pricing of almost everything in the country. His website also features financial news stories that you won’t find in Venezuela’s state controlled media.
For additional resources for investing in Venezuela ADRs or stocks, check out all of our Venezuela tagged articles/links.
