Can you give us a brief overview of JSE’s performance over the past year in terms of listings?

In 2023, we saw three new listings but also 15 de-listings. This year (to date), we already had three new listings, with two more approved, and another two or three in the pipeline, which sets us up for about 10 new stocks joining the JSE. The net delisting trend is fortunately starting to slow down in South Africa.. 

Delisting is a global trend and a result of the heightened concentration in the value chain: as asset managers and stockbrokers get larger and fewer, small-cap firms find it more difficult to get attention and raise capital on the exchange, therefore, they renounce it altogether. Investor protection regulations in the financial markets, such as the MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II) in Europe, have also influenced the delisting global trend. 

How would you describe the current state of the South African capital markets?

The geopolitical landscape has helped underpin a more positive investor sentiment. In South Africa, the result of the general election held in late May and establishment of a Government of Unity (GNU) was seen as market-friendly, and trading volumes picked up significantly post-election. More foreign buyers (both equity and debt) also came into our market and the number of delistings dropped compared to last year. This positive momentum is likely to be supported by cuts in interest rates, as the markets expect the South African Reserve Bank to start cutting interest rates this Third Quarter. 

How have fluctuations in commodity prices affected stock performances?

Low prices over the past year have been tough on the South African PGM miners. On the other hand, gold stocks have very good performances. However, investors continue to be concerned about operational risk, especially in the junior sector. We are also seeing more optimism for base commodities like iron ore, manganese, and coal, as logistics challenges related to both port and rail are being tackled. Deregulation in the rail sector to allow for improved private sector participation is improving the investment mood. Finally, in the critical minerals space, the challenge is that we do not have enough listed battery metal opportunities in South Africa. The JSE is engaging with that part of the market to originate new listings in vanadium, lithium, copper and rare earths. 

Could you briefly tell us about JSE Private Placements (JPP)?

We launched this platform about two years ago to help fundraising in the unlisted space, especially for junior mining companies in the battery metals and rare earths space who are looking to raise money but are not ready for listing yet. At JSE, we want to support these projects to develop further and we expect more M&A activity and fundraising to pick up in the critical metals sector. The JPP has grown into Africa’s largest marketplace, with over 12 billion Rand worth of investors. JPP is a subsidiary of JSE and a partner to Globacap, a fintech company.

How does the JSE compete with other global exchanges and what is your strategy to attract more international listings?

One of JSE’s strengths is that we are an international marketplace, with a third of our listed companies either incorporated offshore or dual listed, and approximately 20% international participation in our market. We continuously work with counterparts around the globe to increase international participation and inward listings.  Some of the initiatives we take to attract more inward listings include our expansive secondary listings framework, the Capital Markets Day in London this year, as well as recent MoUs signed with the New York Stock Exchange and Tadāwul Exchange, on data sharing, improved connectivity for trading, as well as inward listings for dual listings across the various exchanges. 

What will be your main priorities for 2025?

A key priority is to slow down net de-listings. In this sense, we have made regulatory amendments to make it easier for companies to both list and remain listed without compromising investor protections. This year, we announced the segmentation of the Main board into a Prime and General segment to help reduce the regulatory burden on some of our smaller listed companies currently on the main board. 

Another priority is working with governments to raise capital for SOEs (state-owned enterprises), which may include funding through the JSE Private Listings or through listing some of the high-quality SOEs.