Alternative-exchange listings are booming

The three alternative stock exchanges could see their total listings double from the current 10 to almost 20 by the close of 2018.

New stock exchange 4AX has bagged its third listing after only a few months in operation.

Earlier this month, exchanges welcomed CA Sales as its first listing in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry and 4AX CEO Fay Mukaddam said many more companies are expected to join its stock exchange.

“A number of other listings in various sectors are in the pipeline, especially in renewable energy and tourism space,” she told City Press.

Mukaddam said 4AX expected nine more listings before end of next year. The two listings on 4AX before CA Sales Holdings were NWK Limited and NWK Holdings.

Another new kid on the block is A2X, which went live early last month with three secondary listings and recently added another listing.

Last week, Afrimat took up a secondary list on A2X and the shares would be available for trading.

The company joined African Rainbow Capital Investments, Coronation Fund Managers and Peregrine Holdings, which are already listed with A2X.

ZARX has three listings, Senwes and Senwesbel (which both listed in ­February), as well as TWK, which listed in June.

The company also said it has a healthy pipeline of issuers until 2018.

In contrast to the up-and-coming exchanges, the 130-year old JSE has 52 listed companies on its AltX and 324 more on its main board totalling 376. Seventeen of these only listed this year and 11 of that number are on the main board.

Mukaddam said the CA Sales listing, which is a private placement, was merely an introduction to the market for now and no shares would be issued to the public.

CA Sales CEO Frans Britz said the listing was the first for the company and he was excited at the prospects of raising capital for future growth and expansion.

Britz said the decision to list with 4AX was because the company was looking for something different.

“We found the JSE listing requirements to be quite onerous and considered the offerings of the other exchanges.

"In the end, our decision to list on 4AX is because we felt their exchange platform and business model is best suited to our business and growth goals,” he said.

CA Sales provides sales, merchandising, warehousing and distribution services for FMCG goods for brands like Unilever, Tiger Brands, Diageo, Heineken, Colgate, Palmolive, GlaxoSmithKline, Pepsico and many more blue chip ­international and local FMCG companies.