| There is the oft-repeated assertion, never formally, of South African arrogance in African capital markets. The deep pride that is felt by African capital market regulators and the perceived possible “threat” that SA, the Big Brother, may undermine achievements now or in the future may be unfounded. What is absent is a common vision from all capital market regulators. The African Stock Exchanges Association is an example of a White Elephant.
I know that competition amongst vendors for trading platforms etc. is fierce in African markets with the “Indians” versus the “Africans”versus the Europeans. This is normal, healthy, competition but perhaps its finances that underline who works with whom. The fact is this most African stock exchanges have yet to implement a world class information dissemination platform i.e. an Edgar type platform. There was an initiative (Project Thusanang) to enable the JSE system to be used by some regional markets that came to nought. It made perfect sense some years ago. So why are African markets so far behind in immediate, broad and non-exclusionary investment data dissemination? I don’t know. What I know is that the model of governance in South Africa needs to be replicated in a few African markets. Take for example the achievements of the Institute of Directors in South Africa in their corporate governance appraisal tool. This is good stuff that can be modified for African markets but not much is happening to adopt it Africa-wide. The same could apply for SENS platform of the JSE and replicating this in African markets. African markets have to get past rent seeking tendencies, adopt shareholder education initiatives and contribute to a more informed market. I have regurgitated the GAI initiative of the IODSA below as another reminder that prejudices aside the South Africans can add value. The King Report on Corporate Governance in Southern Africa, 2009 (King III) together with relevant legislation, sets the standard and principles for corporate governance in South Africa. Now you can measure your company’s performance with a ground-breaking online tool from the IoDSA. |
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| The Governance Assessment Instrument (GAI) | |
| To expand our offering to you the IoDSA has developed an automated web‐based tool that serves as a measure and enabler of good corporate governance structures, policies and procedures. The GAI can assess, | |
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| How the GAI works | |
| The GAI assessment criteria are based on the principles, recommendations and provisions contained in King III, Companies Act and JSE Listing Rules. Answer sets, which are appropriately weighted, are provided for various assessment questions. Once the assessment is complete, the GAI generates reporting that includes, | |
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| Who can use GAI | |
| The GAI consists of customisable modules to cater for various types of companies including, | |
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| The future for your company with GAI | |
| Over time the GAI will establish standards and a statistical benchmark for different sectors and industries. The result – the GAI will become an enabler of transparent, credible and measurable reporting for your company. | |
| How to get GAI | |
| To register for access to the GAI, choose one of the following options, | |
| Option 1 – Obtaining user license | |
| Complete registration form and forward to gai@iodsa.co.za | |
| Option 2 – Registering for trial of product | |
| Complete registration form and forward to gai@iodsa.co.za, indicate trial version | |
| GAI Pricing | |
| GAI pricing ranges from R180 per month to R1900 per month depending on the entity size and industry. | |
| Annual Discount | |
| An early settlement discount of 10% of the annual value is offered for annual payment. Pricing is available on request. | |
| Founding partners | |
| The IoDSA would like to thank the GAI Founding Partners for their financial support and pilot feedback in the development of the GAI. | |
| Current subscribers | |
| For a list of current GAI subscribers, click here. | |
| We look forward to improving your corporate governance practices with the GAI. | |
African Investor Relations
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