Russell Loubser, chief executive officer, Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) said on Tuesday that stock exchanges globally were making the same mistakes as in 2008 by banning the short selling of financial shares.
Speaking at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Africa at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Loubser said: “in our financial markets, we didn't make mistakes in 2008.” He noted that the global community was close to tipping over into a depression.
“In an extreme pressure environment, we didn't make mistakes, Loubser said noting that in 2008 Russia closed its market 11 times in a single month, during the crisis, while many countries banned the short selling of financial shares.
“Here we are again in 2011 and exchanges are making the same mistakes,” Loubser said.
A number of European countries including France, Italy and Spain imposed short-selling bans earlier this month amid market volatility on debt concerns in the eurozone.
Loubser, who has been chief executive since 1997, is set to step down at the end of December, with current deputy CEO, Nicky Newton-King taking his place.
The CEO was also critical of neighbouring bourses in Africa on Tuesday. “Our African neighbours don't have the same sense of urgency. Our African neighbours don't see the need to up their game,” he said. 'Technology is no longer the problem, it's an enabler,” Loubser said. “Those stock exchanges are run by people. African stock exchanges don't seem to work because the people behind them don't seem to want to change.”
*Gareth Vorster was invited to attend the symposium by Gartner, a global technology research provider. - I-Net Bridge