SSX MISSION STATEMENT

To promote the economic development of Swaziland through capital formation by developing and maintaining a fair, orderly, transparent and efficient securities market

ROLE IN SWAZILAND

History

A move towards a formal structure for capital markets development in Swaziland dates back in 1989 when a working party under the direction of the Central Bank was commissioned to examine if there were economic benefits to be derived from establishing a stock exchange. The working party concluded that there was a need and an opportunity for such a move and proposed, as a first step, the formation of a stockbroking company which would be licensed under the existing banking legislation pending the drafting of a securities law.

For eight years the Swaziland Stock Market operated as an over the counter-single stockbroker facility. It was not until July 1999 that a fully-fledged stock exchange, the Swaziland Stock Exchange (SSX), was inaugurated. The operations of the SSX were conducted under the supervision of the Capital Markets Development Unit of the Central Bank, which had regulatory oversight over the operations of the exchange.

What does the SSX do?

The stock exchange is basically a market for capital. It provides a link between economic agents in need of finance and investors seeking profitable investments opportunities. This process involves the issuing, listing and trading of securities. Companies that are in need of finance would normally issue securities on the exchange and investors would buy them as an investment. Three types of securities are currently listed on the SXX namely; equity, corporate bonds and Government bonds.

Functions of the SSX

The SSX has two main functions to fulfil, that is to:

•         Act as a primary market for the raising of new capital by companies through the sale of securities to investors, and

•         Provide a secondary market for the subsequent trading of these securities in a supervised and regulated environment.