New Pan African Stock Exchange Lists a Namibian Financial Services Company

Posted by Staff Writer on Friday, February 20, 2009 at 5:31pm.

The Africa board, which was set up under the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), was created to draw foreign money into the Pan-African market while giving groups listed on other African Exchanges the opportunity to list on the JSE in addition to their current bourse.

The JSE has the most liquid market for equities on the continent. The market value of the companies that form part of the JSE’s all share index is about R3.2 trillion(USD128 Million). The hope for the new bourse is that it will also link African exchanges to the JSE and provide additional exposure to individual exchanges.  Companies could benefit from increased awareness and exposure as well.

Some companies interested in listing on the Board have indicated that this could serve as a springboard for their entry into new markets in Africa. NAMIBIAN micro financial services group Trustco became the first company to float on the JSE’s new Africa board last week.

JSE deputy CEO Nicky Newton-King was recently quoted by Business day saying, the board would give local investors a “new perspective” on Africa, where there were a number of exciting banks, telecoms and construction firms that met the profile of the Africa board. The board would also help address the skepticism with which many investors viewed Africa.

“We are looking to list a number of companies next year,” Newton-King said.

“We are really trying to put top resources into opening up discussions (with companies).”

As Africa becomes more and more attractive to investors from every corner of the world, The Africa Board could serve as a magnet to individual and institutional investors looking for new emerging markets that meet their emerging markets criteria and give international investors a chance at investing in high quality publicly traded African companies on one exchange.