Cape Town Stock Exchange aims to lure firms from Nigeria to Kenya

The latest South African stock exchange pledging to lure firms from across the continent with listing costs that are a third of that charged by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as it opens on Thursday.

TWK Agri Pty. will be the first company to trade on the Cape Town Stock Exchange, which was previously called 4 Africa Exchange Pty. before an overhaul that resulted in the bourse becoming a full-fledged stock exchange, according to Chief Executive Officer Eugene Booysen. BKV Holdings will list a few weeks later.

 

While a wave of initial public offerings has swept across the world, firms in the continent’s most-industrialized nation, especially smaller companies, have been de-listing from South Africa’s main exchange in recent years due to cost and onerous compliance issues. Cape Town Stock Exchange and other rivals such as A2X and ZarX have been using technology to cut listing costs in a bid to lure business.

Other than the JSE, the Cape Town Stock Exchange, will be the only bourse that is able to offer companies equity and debt trading, said Booysen. The exchange managed to get its debt listing rules approved last year, and is set to begin trading of debt in October, he said.