Johannesburg Stock Exchange

We had a very informative visit today at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.  Some interesting things I picked up from the visit were:

• The JSE has an index which provides investors with company rankings based on social issues.
• The JSE is ranked as the highest regulated stock exchange in the world.
• An advantage of being in an emerging market is that they can wait to see what does and does not work in other markets.  Ranking for financial soundness was 8 or 9.
• Prior to the world financial crisis, South Africa was starting to see growth but that growth has stopped since the financial crisis.  However, the world financial crisis has made South African Bonds more attractive.
• The droughts in Texas and Mexico has helped the agriculture industry in South Africa as the farmers here were able to step in and provide the products normally provided by Mexico and Texas.
• South Africa is at a disadvantage to attract foreign direct investment compared to more developed countries as they do not have the financial resources to entice companies to make such investments in their country.