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Cape Town - Africa's top bourse the JSE is in "good
conversation" with several companies on the continent over more potential
listings next year to add to the 12 so far in 2011, says deputy CEO Nicky Newton-King.
Initial public offerings (IPOs) have tumbled, not just at
the JSE but globally since the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent
eurozone sovereign debt turmoil.
"But we've got good conversations going... particularly
on the continent," incoming CEO Newton-King
told Reuters ahead of a briefing in parliament.
"So we expect to see more and more IPOs come, but it is
a long, lengthy process just to get through the regulatory environment anyway,"
she said.
Besides IPOs, Newton-King said she expects to see more types
of products, such as depository receipts and derivatives linked to companies
being offered, instead of a traditional IPO.
She said mining, telecommunications and financial services
are among the key sectors the JSE is targeting in Africa.
"Our approach is to look at issuers that need capital -
need investors where their home markets might be too small. So we've got a lot
of different segments we are looking at, but we are looking at particular
issuers rather than trying to speak to everyone," Newton-King said.
However, the JSE, which already has 14 African companies
listed, with four different debt instruments and one African exchange-traded
fund, needs closer cooperation with other African exchanges as it competes with
other bourses around the world.
In many instances, Africa's growing firms are shunning Johannesburg in favour of the higher-profile London Stock Exchange.
"Clearly we need to be trying to find a way to cooperate with African exchanges, with African issuers to bring more African product to the table here in South Africa, where we have a lot of international investors every day," she said.
