JSE denies anticompetitive behaviour as watchdog heads to tribunal

The JSE has rejected claims of “exclusionary conduct”, which the Competition Commission said has hampered the ability of rival exchange A2X to grow in the South Africa market.

The commission announced on Sunday that it had filed a notice of motion referring the JSE to the Competition Tribunal after it received a complaint from A2X in October 2022. It wants the JSE to be fined up to 10% of its turnover.

The JSE said on Monday that it had approached lawyers over the commission’s allegations.

“The JSE denies these allegations in the strongest possible terms and has been advised by external legal counsel that the commission’s claims are without merit,” it said.

It told its shareholders that the commission’s announcement did not provide details and a non-confidential version of its referral affidavit had been posted.

“The JSE is preparing its plea to the commission’s referral, which – by agreement with the commission and with the consent of the tribunal – will be filed in early 2026,” it said. “Given the nature of these proceedings, the JSE cannot determine if or when the matter will proceed to trial.”

Exclusionary conduct

The referral follows a complaint submitted by A2X that the JSE is allegedly abusing a dominant market position by engaging in exclusionary conduct concerning the JSE’s broker dealer accounting (BDA) system and matched principal trade type. The JSE said it had co-operated fully with the commission throughout its investigation.

The commission is seeking an order declaring that the JSE has contravened sections 8(c) and 8(1)(c) of the Competition Act, in that it has engaged in exclusionary conduct with anticompetitive effects.

Read: JSE rival files competition complaint

It wants the JSE interdicted and restrained from engaging in the alleged exclusionary conduct and for it to take remedial steps to restore conditions of effective competition.

The commission wants the JSE to change its rules so the BDA system can work better with other trading platforms. This will make it easier to trade across different systems and give access to broker data needed for better risk management and fair competition in the market.

The commission wants the JSE to update its trading rules so that the matched principal trade type – a trade where a broker buys and sells securities as the middleman – can also cover off-book transactions while being able to generate a single contract note, which is an official document that records the details of a trade.

It has also requested an amendment of the rules of the JSE to develop a reverse matched principal trade type to allow 100% trades on the JSE/BDA platform to be executed, cleared and settled on the A2X platform.

Read: JSE to get new CEO, with Leila Fourie to retire

A2X was launched in 2017. It is a secondary trading platform that allows investors to buy and sell shares that are already listed on the JSE or other local and international exchanges.

CEO Kevin Brady said the numbers reveal the consequences of the JSE’s alleged anticompetitive behaviour: fewer listings, stagnant liquidity and rising costs that deter both issuers and investors.

“We believe this referral validates what we have been saying: that South Africa’s financial markets have been held back by the JSE’s anticompetitive practices that ultimately harm investors, listed companies and competitor exchanges. Our market must embrace competition to create the dynamic capital market that South Africa needs,” he said.

‘Shared commitment’

“A2X has seen several tactics by the JSE, including their arguments that competition introduces systemic risk and that new players are inadequately regulated. These arguments ring hollow when viewed against international experience and A2X’s eight-year track record.”

He said international experience shows that when regulators enable fair, open competition between exchanges, costs drop, innovation and liquidity grow, and more companies list.

A2X is hopeful that with new leadership at the JSE, there will be a “shared commitment” to growing South Africa’s capital markets.  – © 2025 NewsCentral Media

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