The JSE’s All Share Index (Alsi) plunged below the psychological 70 000 points mark on Tuesday morning. This is in the wake of the Naspers/Prosus fallout, after reports that majority-owned Tencent faces a stiff fine in China over allegations of violating anti-money laundering rules.

Africa’s biggest stock exchange fell around 3% in morning trade, as the two biggest companies on the bourse – Naspers and Prosus – plunged by a further 10%, respectively.

The JSE had closed over 2.4% down on Monday, at 71 904 points, after Naspers plummeted over 13% and Prosus plunged over 11%.

All three tech stocks saw a major selloff, after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Tencent is facing a record fine related to its WeChat Pay platform violating anti-money laundering regulations in China.

On Monday, the Naspers and Prosus selloff saw billions being wiped off the market caps of both groups, while Tencent’s share plunged over 10% in China.

According to Bloomberg, Naspers’s share price plunge on Monday is the most since 2000.
The group invested in the Chinese tech giant Tencent over two decades ago and “remains the biggest shareholder through Prosus NV” it noted.

The rout resulted in the JSE Alsi closing at its worst level this year on Monday, taking it below the record high close of 73 709 points at the end of 2021, and significantly lower compared with its 2022 record high of 77 536 points on March 2.

However, Tuesday’s fall will likely see it reaching a new record low for the year. The bourse broke through the 70 000 points mark in November last year.

“Naspers plummeted 13.1%, after the People’s Bank of China charged Tencent with a record fine as its WeChat Pay had violated anti-money-laundering rules,” it added.

In its report citing unidentified “people familiar with the matter” – the WSJ said that China’s central bank “found regulatory breaches and lapses during recent inspection of the ubiquitous [WeChat Pay] payments network”.