Economy
What is Behind South Africa’s and Namibia’s Capital Market Developments?
When diamonds and gold were found in South Africa in the late 1800s, the economy was transformed. Following that, a large amount of global money was invested.
The nation has grown a well-developed industrial base in the years after World War II, and it has undergone extremely volatile growth rates, including several years when it was among the highest in the world.
South Africa, on the other hand, has had persistent economic difficulties since the late 1970s, owing to its apartheid policies, which caused many countries to suspend foreign investment and enforce more harsh trade restrictions against it.
Namibia has been classified as a lower-middle-income country with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) that is slightly higher than the average for Sub-Saharan African countries.
However, the summary is deceptive. Only one-quarter of all Namibians and one-sixth of black Namibians have decent incomes; up to two-thirds of the population lives in abject poverty with inadequate access to public services. Because of a declining productive industry, a shortage of capital stock and serious world market problems for base metals and uranium oxide, economic development remains a challenge.
Furthermore, unless foreign assistance investments quickly turn into significant real inflows and private external investment in mining, manufacturing, and fisheries occurs, the one segment of the GDP that expanded steadily in the 1980s would decrease.
South Africa
The South African Reserve Bank, which is the sole issuing authority for the rand, the national currency, has a well-developed financial structure. It is in charge of monetary policy formulation and implementation, as well as managing foreign exchange trades.
There are several licensed banking institutions, many of which focus on commercial banking, as well as merchant, deposit, and investment banking, to name a few.
The Development Bank of Southern Africa, for example, is a quasi-governmental organization that promotes development programs. The banking market is dominated by private pension and provident funds, as well as more than two dozen insurance providers. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is the centre of an active capital market.
South Africa, Africa’s second-largest economy after Nigeria, has a GDP that is far greater than that of its sub-Saharan neighbours. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), which is 132 years old and has a market capitalization of more than USD1 trillion, is the biggest stock exchange in Africa.
The JSE is a comprehensive and cutting-edge exchange that offers complete electronic trading, clearing, and settlement of stocks, shares, and interest-rate securities, as well as financial, asset, and currency trading in South Africa.
On the JSE, there are approximately 350 companies listed, with industrials being the largest grouping, led by energy companies such as mines and oil companies.
The JSE, on the other hand, is facing strong headwinds. After decades with little competition, the JSE is now being tested by smaller competitors such as ZAR X, a low-cost model launched in 2016 to offer stock access to lower-income individuals.
Since then, new entrants have entered the ring, including A2X, 4AX, and the Equity Express Securities Exchange, which focuses on black economic empowerment. The market is currently focused on the newly implemented ‘twin peaks’ regulatory model, which response to weak financial sector policies and insufficient regulatory supervision.
It is intended to promote consumer trust and stimulate capital formation, much as it was in Australia, where the concept first debuted.
Namibia Profile
The majority of banking activity is handled by two commercial banks, First National Bank of Southern Africa and Standard Bank Namibia (both branches of South African parent companies). Following independence, land, infrastructure, and development banks were reorganized. In the mid-1990s, the Central Bank of Namibia introduced the Namibian dollar as an independent currency to replace the South African rand.
The Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) currently has 50 listed companies. Namibia has the second-lowest population density of any sovereign nation, with just 2.6 million people.
The NSX was established in 1904 to help finance the country’s diamond rush. The rush was over by 1910, and the exchange was suddenly closed. The NSX did not reopen until 1992, 82 years later, with start-up funding from 36 Namibian companies.
Despite the fact that agriculture and tourism are important parts of the economy, other industries dominate the stock exchange. In reality, three industries account for half of the NSX’s listings: banking (four companies), mining (seven companies), and finance (three companies).
It is only recently that debt has been issued and listed. Namibia had virtually no public debt until 2011. In reality, the nation had one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios in the world, at just 16 per cent of GDP. International rating agencies downgraded the country to a sub-investment rating in 2017 due to the dramatic increase in public debt.
Namibian state-owned corporations and private businesses have floated bonds worth more than NAD33 billion (approximately £1.73 billion) on the NSX. As traditional financing sources dry up, more Namibian firms are expected to issue bonds in the immediate future. Because of the economic crisis, banks’ balance sheets and loan-to-deposit ratios have been strained, and they are less likely to lend to corporations.
The withdrawal of traditional finance provides an incentive for small businesses to raise money from their balance sheets, collateralized or government-guaranteed debt securities, or stock offerings on the local exchange.
The Report
From a small lunch party in New York City in 1937 to a vast array of 170,000 members and 157 societies in 2019, the Investment Club has grown to become the world’s largest investment organization, dedicated to leading the investment profession internationally for the ultimate good of society.
Early colonial times saw the establishment of several African exchanges. After the diamond and gold rush, South Africa led the way, followed by Zimbabwe, Egypt, and Namibia (at the time, a German colony) – all before 1905. Some businesses did not survive the commodity boom, but most are flourishing despite being significantly diversified and modernized.
Nigeria in the 1960s; Botswana, Mauritius, and Ghana in 1989; Namibia after its independence from South Africa in the 1990s.
Others, especially the East African exchanges, are relatively recent and are rapidly growing in popularity. All of these examples show how regulation, trading technologies, and fintech are allowing more market players to participate in finance and investing in a fairer, quicker, and lower-cost manner.
The African Securities Exchanges Association collaborated on the CFA Institute Research Foundation brief (ASEA).
By Adedapo Adesanya
Luno Nigeria has received Approval in Principle (AIP) from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through admission into its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), marking a significant milestone in the country’s evolving digital asset regulatory landscape.
The approval follows an extensive engagement process between the company and the regulator and represents a major step in Luno Nigeria’s regulatory journey. As a result, it becomes the first global cryptocurrency exchange to be admitted.
Nigeria has a sordid regulatory minefield when it comes to digital assets; while it encourages new technologies, it has not fully lifted restrictions placed on crypto transactions via official channels.
Admission into ARIP means the cryptocurrency platform has met the commission’s requirements to participate in the programme and is authorised to operate within its defined scope, subject to ongoing compliance obligations and regulatory conditions, thus limiting full utilisation.
Founded in Africa in 2013, Luno has operated in Nigeria since 2015 and was among the first cryptocurrency exchanges to serve the Nigerian market. It was affected by a blanket ban announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The company said the latest approval reinforces its commitment to operating within Nigeria’s emerging regulatory framework for digital assets.
Commenting on the development, the chief executive of Luno Nigeria, Mr Ayotunde Alabi, described the approval as a landmark achievement for the company.
“This is an important milestone for Luno Nigeria and a strong validation of our commitment to building responsibly in one of Africa’s most important cryptocurrency markets. Admission into ARIP gives us a clearer regulatory pathway, strengthens trust with customers and partners, and provides a stronger foundation for the next phase of our growth, particularly as we expand our focus on institutional and B2B opportunities,” Mr Alabi said.
He expressed appreciation to the regulator for its continued engagement throughout the approval process and commended the Luno team for its resilience and commitment in achieving the milestone.
Luno said the regulatory approval comes at a time when it is expanding its business-to-business operations by engaging banks, fintech companies, payment providers, asset managers and corporate institutions seeking digital asset solutions.
According to the company, increasing regulatory clarity has become a key requirement for institutional adoption of digital assets. It noted that admission into ARIP would strengthen its ability to provide compliant digital asset infrastructure, including stablecoin applications, treasury solutions, crypto-as-a-service offerings and secure access to digital assets.
The Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme is the SEC’s regulatory sandbox designed to accelerate the onboarding of digital asset and investment service providers, including Virtual Asset Service Providers and tokenised product platforms.
The initiative enables the commission to assess emerging technologies and business models in a controlled environment while ensuring adequate investor protection and market integrity.
Building on the initial licensing rollout in 2024, Luno’s admission into the second batch of the programme underscores Nigeria’s efforts to establish a structured and transparent regulatory framework for the digital asset ecosystem, while strengthening confidence among investors, institutional partners and other market participants.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Regulation Limited has allowed the trading in the shares of Fortis Global Insurance Plc.
This followed the completion of the share capital reconstruction of the organisation, which triggered the suspension a few weeks ago.
In a notice dated June 17, 2026, NGX RegCo announced the suspension of the underwriting company because of the exercise.
Yesterday, another notice was issued to inform the investing public of the lifting of the embargo on the securities of the organisation.
A total of 12,911,030,586 ordinary shares of Fortis Global Insurance were delisted, with 3,227,757,647 ordinary shares relisted at N3.96 per share.
“We refer to our market bulletin with reference number NGXREG/IRD/MB68/26/6/17, dated June 17, 2026, wherein the Market was notified that trading in the shares of Fortis Global Insurance Plc was placed on suspension effective Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in preparation for the share reconstruction of the company’s issued shares.
“The market is hereby notified that the entire 12,911,030,586 ordinary shares of Fortis Global Insurance were delisted from the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on July 2, 2026, while the newly reconstructed issued share capital of 3,227,757,647 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each were also listed on the daily official list of NGX at N3.96 per share.
“The delisting of 12,911,030,586 ordinary shares and listing of 3,227,757,647 ordinary shares on NGX is pursuant to the approval received from the company’s shareholders at its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of April 4, 2025, and the no-objection received from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“Consequently, following the completion of the share reconstruction, the suspension placed on the securities of the company has been lifted,” the circular signed by Bonaventure Onwuji, on behalf of the Head of Issuer Regulation Department at NGX RegCo, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) to grant a one-month extension for the filing of Company Income Tax (CIT) returns.
The appeal followed widespread technical glitches that occurred on the newly introduced Rev360 tax platform, which restricted organisations from meeting the June 30 deadline.
The Director General of the think tank, Mrs Chinyere Almona, in a statement, also appealed to the NRS to waive penalties for companies that were unable to file their returns by the Tuesday statutory deadline due to the portal’s failure.
Mrs Almona explained that the prolonged downtime experienced on the Rev360 platform on the deadline day prevented thousands of companies from completing their tax filings, noting that though some businesses waited until the last minute to file their returns, the widespread system failure could not be blamed on taxpayers.
“Rev360 inaugurated about two months ago, suffered prolonged downtime on Tuesday, leaving thousands of companies unable to file with only hours to spare.
“This is a platform failure, not a taxpayer failure,” she said.
The LCCI director general noted that while teething challenges were expected with a newly deployed digital platform, inaugurating it close to a major statutory deadline exposed businesses to avoidable risks.
According to her, the heavy volume of last-minute users reveals shortcomings in the platform’s capacity, resulting in login failures, validation errors and unsuccessful submissions when taxpayers need reliable access.
She, therefore, appealed to the tax body to immediately extend the CIT filing deadline by one month and waive all penalties for companies that attempted to file on or before the deadline but were prevented from doing so by the system outage.
The LCCI head also appealed to the revenue agency to urgently improve the platform’s capacity and reliability ahead of subsequent filing deadlines.
“The LCCI appeals to the NRS to announce the extension and penalty waiver as soon as possible to avoid apprehension and confusion within the business community,” Mrs Almona said.
She added that in the interest of ensuring a smooth implementation of the new tax administration system, granting an extension had become necessary. According to her, adopting a cautious regulatory approach during the rollout of the new platform will help build confidence among taxpayers while supporting compliance.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz4 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn