Absa, one of South Africa’s big four banks, will now have a secondary listing on alternate exchange and capital market platform A2X Markets (A2X) from 1 February.

The lender, which has a market capitalisation of R169 billion on the main Johannesburg bourse, will retain its primary listing, A2X said in a statement on Thursday.

Its listing brings the number of instruments listed on A2X to 94, with a combined market capitalisation of R6.5 trillion.

“…Its [Absa’s] issued share capital will not be affected by its secondary listing on A2X. There is no cost or additional regulatory compliance for Absa Group as a result of the secondary listing,” the challenger exchange said.

Group financial director at Absa, Jason Quinn, said the secondary listing would enable investors to reduce trading costs.

“We are very pleased to be listing on A2X, which further demonstrates our support for developing South Africa’s capital markets. It offers investors a wider choice of where to trade our shares and potentially reduces their trading costs,” Quinn said.

Absa is the 19th company of the top 40 JSE listed companies to join A2X, and the fourth bank. It joins Nedbank, Standard Bank, and Investec in its sector. The alternate bourse has also managed to attract the likes of AngloGold Ashanti, Aspen, Mr Price, Naspers, Woolworths, and Sanlam, among others.

Bringing the total number of listed securities on the platform to 88.
A2X CEO Kevin Brady said Absa was the first issuer to have a secondary listing of ETFs on A2X in July 2019.

“We are delighted to be welcoming Absa Group, one of Africa’s largest financial services groups, to our market next week … we are pleased to bring the benefits and savings that a listing on A2X brings to Absa Group investors too,” Brady said.

During late morning trade on Thursday, Absa’s share price had strengthened 1.39% to trade at R862.