Johannesburg - South Africa’s newest bourse, ZAR X, on Monday shrugged off threats of a court challenge to its legitimacy, with the listings of Senwes group and its holding company, Senwesbel.
ZAR X said it had settled the transaction in 10 seconds with a buy order for 100 shares at R10.50 a share.
ZAR X director of listings, Graeme Wellsted, said the quick turnaround time proved that the company’s platform worked well.
“Our advantage is that we have a real-time settlement arrangement whereby we are able to settle trading in 10 seconds with a buyer, a bid and an offer all processed,” Wellsted said.
The legal challenge came from rival 4 Africa Exchange (4AX), which said on Monday it would approach the high court to set aside the decision by the Financial Services Board (FSB) to dismiss its appeal for the regulator to grant ZAR X a stock exchange licence.
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ZAR X was initially granted a licence by the FSB in March last year and was set to start trading in September.
The JSE and 4AX launched an appeal with the FSB Appeals Board. The appeal was dismissed with costs earlier this month, providing regulatory certainty for the company to proceed.
ZAR X chief executive Etienne Nel said the listing of Senwes was groundbreaking, because it heralded the country’s first additional stock exchange in over half a century.
The 108-year-old Senwes provides supply, financial and technical services and market access in eight of the nine provinces.