Listings rules for issuers of debt ‘need to be tightened’
Futuregrowth Asset Management says the JSE needs to do more to tighten up listings rules for issuers of debt
As governance failures rock South African Airways, Transnet and Eskom, Futuregrowth Asset Management says the JSE needs to do more to tighten up listings rules for issuers of debt. Conway Williams, head of listed credit at the asset manager, said a closer look at the 534-page JSE listing requirements for equities versus the 113-page Debt Listing Requirements was instructive: why was there such a big difference in requirements across these, "despite both being securities and being listed instruments?" Futuregrowth, whose bond funds have about R150bn in assets under management, said it was concerned that the debt listing requirements "do not provide sufficient protection for debt holders". The JSE ascribes its light touch on listings rules to the fact that equity shareholders have more rights than bondholders. "Equity instruments provide the holder with an ownership stake in the company, allowing the shareholder voting rights on specific company matters." These include acquisitions, w...
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