June 5, 2006
By Anish Abraham
AFTER 119 years, the Johannesburg Securities Exchange is now a publicly traded company, with a listing on its own bourse.
Attending the listing ceremony at the exchange's glass-clad offices in Sandton on 5 June was South Africa's deputy president, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
After long being a mutual institution owned by those who made use of it, the exchange was demutualised in July 2005, becoming an unlisted public company known as JSE Limited.
Following just under a year of over-the-counter trade, the company is now listed and for the first time anybody who is not a stockbroker or an authorised user of the JSE can own shares.
Public trading of JSE Limited shares commenced on Monday morning at a price of R26 per share, raising some R2,1-billion.
Africa's largest securities exchange was formed in 1886 by Benjamin Woollan following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand.
Such a trading platform was vital to cater for the mines and financial institutions that sprung up in the wake of the discovery of the gold reefs.
According to its website, the JSE's mission is the “provision of secure and efficient primary and secondary capital markets across a diverse range of instruments, supported by cost-effective services".
Its website lists several key achievements:
- Reaching total market capitalisation of greater than R3,5-trillion.
- It is the 17th largest stock exchange worldwide in terms of market capitalisation.
- It accounts for more than 75 percent of the market capitalisation of shares listed on African exchanges.
- It is among the top five emerging market exchanges in terms of market capitalisation.
- The FTSE/JSE All Share Index was world's seventh best performing index for that year.
- It is the second largest stock exchange in terms of Single Stock Futures volumes.
- It is amongst the top 10 exchanges in options and futures volumes.
Among the companies listed on its boards are global players such as Anglo American, SAB Miller and Sasol.
The JSE also operates markets for financial derivatives, agricultural derivatives and interest rate products.
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