The Johannesburg Stock Exchnge (JSE) has withdrawn its appeal on the award of the exchange licence granted to 4 Africa Exchange (4AX), after months of deliberation between the two entities.
Fay Mukaddam (pictured), 4AX CEO, said:
"In September 2016 the JSE lodged an application of appeal with the FSB to review the grounds on which the registrar granted our licence. We understood that the JSE, in part, had as its objective interest in ensuring that the integrity of the financial markets continued to be upheld. As a responsible company ourselves, we recognised this as an opportunity to engage with the JSE, to share insights on our licence application and directly address any concerns the JSE had."
Mukaddam added that cooperation with other market infrastructures forms part of the conditions of 4AX's License Award. "We believe this level of open engagement contributes to our own service offering and the promotion of the broader financial markets," she said.
Donna Nemer, Director of Capital Markets at the JSE, said that at the time 4AX's licence was granted, the JSE felt that the exchange application process did not provide sufficient insight to enable the entity to determine whether the objects of the Financial Markets Act (FMA) would be furthered by the grant of a licence to 4AX. "However, after active and transparent engagements over these past few months we have a better understanding of 4AX's market approach, which will increase the diversity of financial markets in South Africa. This is what led us to withdraw our appeal," Nemer said.
