South Africa

New JSE listing requirements proposal released

• 27 October 2022
JSE

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has proposed amendments to listing requirements to ensure the bourse is “fair, efficient, transparent, and competitive”.

The proposal followed a response paper outlining the feedback received from market participants, which showed favourable support from most commentators.

The JSE said it would take a phased approach to implement the amendments.

The JSE is prioritising the following amendments to its listing requirements and debt listing requirements. 

Listings Requirements

  • Dual class shares – The JSE is proposing amendments to introduce dual-class shares for applicants seeking a listing on the main board.
  • Free float for new listings – The JSE is proposing amendments to reduce the 20% free float threshold to 10%.
  • Free float assessment – Currently, any holdings of 10% or more in the securities of an issuer, irrespective of such shareholder’s relationship with the company, do not qualify as free float. The proposed amendments will remove the 10% holdings free float exclusion.
  • Review of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC) – The JSE’s current SPAC offering is accessible and flexible, but the JSE is proposing amendments to align with leading international markets to ensure the attractiveness and competitiveness of SPACs to issuers and investors.
  • Financial reporting disclosures – The JSE is proposing to remove the obligation to produce an abridged report when the company has published its audited annual financial statements on its website. The JSE is also proposing simplification of the financial reporting requirements and removing provisions that do not provide regulatory value.

Debt Listings Requirements

  • Annual improvement project 2022 – The annual improvement project proposes amendments to the Debt Requirements, where the JSE has determined that (i) certain provisions in the Debt Requirements require more clarity/context and/or (ii) there is ambiguity in the interpretation which needs to be remedied.

Andre Visser, director of issuer regulation at the JSE, said they want to create an enabling environment for listing on the JSE, taking into account international best practices.

“We believe the proposed amendments will go a long way in providing a conducive and internationally competitive environment for capital raising on the JSE,” he said.

Interested parties are invited to comment on the consultation paper on or before Wednesday, 30 November 2022.

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