Main Board

About the Main Board

In 1886, the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand led to a boom in mining and financial companies and a stock exchange was soon needed. And so began the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Main Board. The JSE holds a treasured position as one of the top 20 exchanges in the world in terms of market capitalisation. The majority of this market capitalisation is based on the companies listed on the Main Board and the JSE’s top 40 stocks are also listed here. These stocks are highly regarded by both local and international investors.

The Main Board houses the same sectors grouped according to the London Stock Exchanges XXXX. Dual listings are actively encouraged and are possible on all boards of the JSE.

A list of all Main Board companies can be found here.

Listing benefits

• Access to capital for growth: listing gives you the opportunity to raise capital to fund acquisitions as well as growth.
• Boost your profile: listing generally heightens your company’s public profile with customers, suppliers, the media and investors. As a result more business opportunities become available to you.
• Create value and liquidity for shareholders: because your company’s value is independently assessed, shareholders can realise their investment, liquidity is stimulated and your shareholder base may be broadened.
• A listing allows you to facilitate broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) deals, a prerequisite to effective corporate citizenship in South Africa.
• You may offer share incentives to employees to encourage commitment and improve the quality of recruits.

Why the JSE?

The JSE is well positioned to help you leverage your listing to its maximum. In addition to the benefits above, listing on the JSE allows you to:

• Enjoy local analyst coverage as well as high media interest.
• Attract international investors who are easily able to trade in JSE-listed shares without any restrictions.
• Trade your shares securely and efficiently on JSE TradElect™, the London Stock Exchange’s trading system.
• Be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE/JSE Africa Index Series, thus creating additional exposure for your company both locally and internationally.
• Marketing your business to investors with the assistance of the JSE Business Development team.

Dual listings

Dual listings brochure

The JSE is your entry to a continent rich in capital and resources. Listing your company on the JSE gives you the opportunity to:

• Tap into local knowledge, skills and interest.
• Use your listing as a springboard into the rest of Africa.
• Access deep pools of capital relative to other African markets.
• Use your shares as local currency for transactions.
• Increase and diversify your company’s pool of liquidity
• Facilitate compliance with South African government charters on broad-based black economic empowerment.

Is listing for you?

The decision to list your company needs to be made once you have realistically assessed your company, its management, resources, stage of development, long-term strategy, goals and future prospects. You would also need to consider the timing of a listing in terms of market conditions and where your business is at that point in time.

There are many specific requirements that you need to meet which are in the JSE Listing Requirements. These can be accessed by clicking on this link. It would be a good idea to familiarise yourself with these requirements to assess whether your company will be able to fully comply. We have three markets on which you could list: the Main Board, the Africa Board and the Alternative Exchange (AltX). The decision to list on either market depends on factors like the size of your company, your funding requirements and what you would like to achieve with your listing. Listing may be just what you need to take your business to the next level.