Inconsistent Shareholder Spread Disclosures on Johannesburg Stock Exchange

By Nicolene Wesson CA(SA) and Willie Hamman The Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s current Listing Requirements contain ambiguities that lead to inconsistent disclosures on public and non-public shareholders. Listed companies need to disclose a shareholder spread in their annual report in terms of section 8.63(d) of the JSE’s Listings Requirements. The shareholder spread deals with the number and percentage shareholding by public and non-public shareholders. This distinction between public and non-public shareholders is an important parameter for listing on the JSE (e.g. for Main Board listing, a company must have at least 20% of each class of equity securities held by the public). Non-public shareholding can also be used when calculating the … Continue reading →