JSE Limited

JSE Limited is the oldest existing and largest stock exchange in Africa. It is situated at the corner of Maude Street and Gwen Lane in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2003 the JSE had an estimated 472 listed companies and a market capitalisation of US$182.6 billion, as well as an average monthly traded value of US$6.399 billion . As of 31 December 2013, the market capitalisation of the JSE was at US$1,007 billion.HistoryThe discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886 led to many mining and financial companies opening and a need soon arose for a stock exchange. The first share transactions on the Rand took place in a rustic canvas tent, with trade taking place on Sundays, as this was the only day when mining was not allowed, owing to a strictly enforced regulation prohibiting the entry of African workers to the gold reefs.The Johannesburg Exchange & Chambers Company was established by a London businessman, Benjamin Minors Woollan and housed at the corner of Commissioner and Simmonds Streets. Out of this the JSE was born on 8 November 1887. What immediately gave the JSE a clear advantage over exchanges such as Kimberley, Barberton, and, most importantly, London, was that listing of companies for a quotation on the Official List of the JSE was an easy and relatively cheap procedure. This relatively simple and non-restricting nature of the early Exchange promoted a wave of initial registrations on the Official List, with 68 companies by the end of November 1887. The Official List further expanded to more than 300 companies by the end of January 1890.