• South African Stock Exchange

    South African Stock Exchange Picture

    About the South African Stock Exchange

    The South African exchange, also known as JSE Limited (or just the JSE) is the largest stock exchange in Africa with over 470 listed companies and a market capitalization of US $579 billion in December 2010. The JSE is the 16th largest stock exchange worldwide by market capitalization, and can trace its origins back to the discovery of gold in Witwatersrand in 1886. It was officially founded in 1887 by Benjamin Minors Woollan, a London businessman. Between the late 1880s and 2000, the JSE had a number of locations including its residence at Hollard Street in 1903, and 17 Diagonal Street near Kerk Street in Johannesburg in 1978. Eventually it moved to its current location in Sandton, Gauteng in the year 2000.

    Directed by an honorary committee of 16 individuals, the South African exchange has been successful in its main goal of re-channeling cash resources into productive economic activity. In 2001, the JSE struck a deal with LSE to integrate their bourses and replace the JSE’s then-current trading system with the LSE’s. The JSE has a fully automated electronic trading system called JSE TradElect, which was officially renamed and upgraded to the JSE SETS system in April 2007. The JSE handles trades between a number of different types of securities, including standard equities and bonds as well as derivatives like ETFs, retail notes and tracker funds.

    South African Stock Exchange Hours

    The South African exchange operates from 9:00am-5:00pm Johannesburg time on all weekdays.

    South African Stock Exchange Holidays

    The JSE is open for trading on all weekdays throughout the year with the exception of some of the national holidays of South Africa

    New Years Day- January 1st
    Human Rights Day- March 21st
    Good Friday- April 22nd
    Family Day- April 25th
    Freedom Day- April 27th
    Workers Day- May 1st
    Public Holiday- May 2nd
    Youth Day- June 16th
    National Women’s Day- August 9th
    Heritage Day- September 24th
    Day of Reconciliation- December 16th
    Christmas- December 25th
    Day of Goodwill- December 26th

    Leave a Reply