The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) says South Africa remains highly resilient despite global market shifts caused by recent geopolitical tensions.
Market experts say South Africa’s position as one of the most liquid emerging market economies means it is often among the first countries to experience the effects of global uncertainty and conflict.
JSE Chief Officer for Capital Markets, Helina Andhee, says the local market experienced significant volatility following the outbreak of war earlier this year.
Andhee says, “In South Africa, we are one of the most liquid emerging countries, which is great, but whenever there’s risk-off, we feel it first and foremost and quite brutally. and we have all experienced that sell-off as soon as the war happened in March. The amount of volatility that we’ve seen, the amount of trading activity, which was the highest that we have experienced, just reflect that strong risk-off that we’ve seen globally.”
Despite the volatility, the JSE says it continues to position itself as an attractive destination for both international and domestic companies seeking access to capital markets.
JSE CEO Valdene Reddy says the exchange remains focused on strengthening South Africa’s value proposition while creating opportunities for local companies to grow and scale.
Reddy says, “For us, having a strong value proposition as a country, we stand strong to attract a global listing star market, as well as provide the trajectory for our local companies of growth or then scale. We want to provide a venue and a listings framework that helps them come to the right product. There’s also another stream that we’re working on, which is what we call Operation Phumelela. Now, many of us are familiar with the structural reforms of the country under Operation Vulindlela, which is run by Rudy dicks, but out of the office of the presidency…
“We cannot get out the gates in any of our engagements if we cannot show alignment to structural reforms at a country level that enables our business. and so the private sector has leaned in strongly, and we’ve launched a parallel stream for capital markets reforms called Operation Phumelela,” adds Reddy.
The JSE says ongoing capital market reforms and alignment with broader economic reforms are intended to strengthen investor confidence and support long-term economic growth in South Africa.
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