The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) welcomes National Treasury’s announcement of reforms in the capital flow management framework in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).
“South Africa has embarked on a process of modernising its exchange control standards in line with international best practice. These reforms will go a long a way in positioning South Africa as a competitive investment destination, opening the door for increased international investment and laying the foundation to securing OECD status for South Africa.” Says Leila Fourie, Group CEO of the JSE.
The JSE has, in partnership with Intellidex, put forward a position paper to policy makers and are pleased to see that the exchange control reform proposals have been progressively received. The paper advocated for three areas of reforms which have been included in the MTBPS:
1. The standardisation of the treatment of inward listed instruments
Under the MTBS proposed reforms, all inward listed instruments on South African exchanges, will be classified as domestic. Prior to this, institutional investors have been required to treat inward listed equities as domestic, whereas inward listed debt, derivatives and exchange-traded funds have been treated as foreign.
2. Permission to list non-ZAR denominated instruments
Previously, all listed instruments in South Africa, were required to be in listed in ZAR. Multi-currency listings will provide the opportunity for investors to invest in non-ZAR denominated assets in South Africa, rather than externalizing capital to enable offshore exposure.
3. Collateral for derivative exposure
Foreign investors currently have to convert to ZAR to post collateral for derivatives exposures. Permitting non-ZAR collateral will improve the competitiveness of South African markets in attracting international investment flows.
The JSE looks forward to engaging with policy makers and regulators to help facilitate the proposed MTBS exchange control reforms in capital markets to encourage inward investment into South Africa.
“Not only do the proposed reforms strengthen and enhance South Africa’s capital market’s appeal, they also enable a broader range of product to be issued. The listing on non-Rand denominated instruments, and foreign currency collateral, provides diversification and alternatives for market participants. These reforms would foster better job creation, economic activity and potential tax revenue growth for the country, as the products and assets are managed in South Africa.” concludes Valdene Reddy, Director of Capital Markets at the JSE.
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