JSE ready for secondary and fast-track listings from Singapore

Africa’s largest stock exchange, the JSE, announced on Thursday that it will be extending its secondary listings offering to companies listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX).

SGX-listed companies with secondary listings on the JSE will not only qualify for the fast-track listing route – which the JSE began offering in 2014 – but will have fewer compliance requirements to deal with.

“A secondary listing means that once a company is listed on the JSE, it will only be required to comply with the Listings Requirements of the exchange where it has its primary listing,” the Sandton-based bourse said in a statement.

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SGX-listed companies need to have been listed on the exchange for at least 18 months to qualify for the JSE’s extended offering. Further, companies with primary listings on the SGX older than 18 months will not need a pre-listing statement to list on the JSE’s Main Board or Alternative Exchange (AltX).

“The foundation of the fast track listing route is that information on these applicants [is] well disseminated in their markets, and as such makes it an easy and seamless process to dual-list on the JSE,” the JSE said.

The SGX now joins the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), London Stock Exchange (LSE), New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NYSE Euronext, and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), which already enjoy the JSE’s secondary listing offering.

Extending the secondary and fast-track listing to Singapore will not only drive the JSE’s aims to attract new listings in Asia, but will also benefit the JSE’s local buy-side clients.

“Our local buy-side clients are always looking to enhance the geographic diversification of their portfolios,” the JSE’s director of capital markets, Valdene Reddy said.

“The SGX inclusion in our list of accredited exchanges will allow for a much-needed increase to our pool of inward listed instruments in our market,” she added.

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A fast-track listing on the JSE for SGX-listed companies means:

• Expedited approval of listing between three to six weeks
• Fewer costs and resources required on the basis that no pre-listing statement is required compared to a prescribed pre-listing announcement;
• Minimal once-off fees and discounted annual listing costs; and
• All dual-listings are subject to a 70% discount on JSE annual listing fees, with fast-tracks eligible for this discount.

JSE Group CEO Leila Fourie said the expansion to Singapore will enhance and support efforts to expand in Asia and help promote South Africa to Asia.

“We believe that this streamlined process will support offshore companies to quickly and efficiently access South Africa’s deep pools of capital,” she said.