20120403
AFP
South Africa's Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on Monday announced a new strategy to attract listings from African firms after the Treasury lifted restrictions on foreign companies.

"The JSE's existing African offering includes 12 African companies," said Siobhan Cleary, director of strategy and Public Policy at the JSE.

"In the future, there will be no differentiation (for listing purposes) between African and non-African companies," Cleary said in a statement.

The decision comes after the National Treasury said companies previously viewed as foreign listings would in future be treated as domestic to make it easier for South Africans to invest in JSE-listed stocks.

The JSE is Africa's biggest bourse and is in the top 20 of largest equities exchanges in the world.

Seary said the move would make capital raising by foreign companies easier and encourage growth.

"This evolution is JSE's strategy is a step in the right direction in the quest to increase capital flows into the rest of the Africa," said Nathan Mintah, chairman of the JSE's African advisory board.