South Africa's financial markets regulator has approved a proposal to split the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) into two units.

The exchange said in a statement that the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) had approved its amendments to the Listings Requirements dealing with Market Segmentation, which come into effect on September 23. The new regulations split the bourse's main board into prime and general.  

"This new structure aims to offer a suitable and efficient level of regulation tailored to the size and liquidity of issuers on the main board, while continuing to uphold investor confidence in the market," said the statement.

The changes are a response to a high number of delistings from the 137-year-old bourse.  Companies have complained over the high costs involved in maintaining a presence on the JSE. 

Businesstech wrote in July 2024 that there were 284 counters on Africa’s largest stock exchange, which has a market capitalisation of about $1.07 trillion. In 2000, 616 companies were listed on the JSE. 

Benefits of listing in the general segment include more enabling capital raising measures, cost savings, efficient and cost-effective financial reporting; and greater flexibility for the boards to manage the business.

“We welcome the FSCA’s approval of the amendments to the JSE’s listing requirements in relation to the market segmentation project as we believe it will create a flexible and enabling environment for certain companies listed on the main board to raise capital and undertake corporate actions within an appropriate and relevant regulatory framework,” said Andre Visser, JSE's director for issuer regulation.

In the same release, the JSE said it had expanded its secondary listings framework and has added Saudi Arabia's Tadawul as well as all the Euronext exchanges - Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Paris, Milan, Lisbon and Oslo - to its list of approved and accredited exchanges.