Tharisa plc became the 17th company to list on South Africa’s A2X exchange in February.
Kevin Brady, CEO of A2X, said in a press release: “Tharisa is the second company from the general mining sector to list on A2X”.
It is a secondary listing for the integrated platinum group metals and chrome producer. It has a market capitalization of R4.5 billion ($312 million), which has its primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and also listed on London Stock Exchange.
Phoevos Pouroulis, CEO of Tharisa, said: “The secondary listing on A2X is an opportunity to improve liquidity and attract new investors through the lower trading costs offered by the A2X trading platform. There are no additional regulatory requirements or ongoing obligations. Listing on A2X will complement Tharisa’s existing listings on the JSE and LSE by providing investors with a choice of exchanges on which to transact.”
The A2X began trading in October 2017 and has 9 approved stockbrokers. Combined market capitalization on the A2X was over R2 trillion last month, with listings from mining, banking, property, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), financial services, media and telecommunications. The 17 dual-listed firms include leading stocks in the South African market including Naspers, Sanlam and Standard Bank.
It is a licensed stock exchange which provides a secondary listing venue and is regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and the Prudential Authority (SARB) in terms of the Financial Markets Act.
A recent article on Bloomberg claims that A2X is the most serious of South Africa’s challenger securities exchanges, taking on the 132-year old JSE which is one of the top 20 world exchanges and aiming to be the leading emerging market exchange.
According to Bloomberg news agency , Aarti Takoordeen, CFO of JSE, said in an interview: “About 60% of our revenue comes from the cash-equity market and we are keeping a close eye on specifically one of the competitors playing in that space.”
Although JSE trading prices are marginally higher than those at the rivals, according to Takoordeen: ““It’s not all about price though,” she said. “The JSE is able to provide massive liquidity for trades, we have multiple order types, and we are constantly upgrading our technology, not to mention the know-how that we offer to clients.”
