The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Africa’s largest and most established stock market, has been formally referred to the Competition Tribunal by South Africa’s Competition Commission following allegations of exclusionary conduct that may have hindered fair competition in the domestic financial markets. The Commission’s referral, made public on 9 November 2025, follows a protracted investigation that began with a 2022 complaint by alternative exchange A2X Markets.
According to the court documents filed on 1 October and reviewed by The Southern African Times, the Competition Commission has alleged that the JSE implemented anti-competitive practices in breach of the Competition Act. Central to these claims is the JSE’s mandatory use of its internal Broker Dealer Accounting (BDA) system, a proprietary trade management platform. The Commission contends that this system’s compulsory use by market participants has created structural barriers for new entrants, notably for secondary exchanges such as A2X, which cannot fully integrate with the JSE’s infrastructure due to incompatibility.
The Commission also raised concerns regarding the handling of Matched Principal Trades (MPT) — a mechanism allowing brokers to act as intermediaries on behalf of both the buyer and seller. The regulator alleges that while the JSE permits these trades to be executed on the JSE platform and later migrated to A2X, it restricts brokers from consolidating and settling such trades originating from A2X’s platform. This asymmetrical treatment, the Commission argues, entrenches the JSE’s dominant market position while impeding operational flexibility for smaller competitors.
In response to the allegations, the JSE issued a formal statement affirming its intention to contest the referral. The exchange described the claims as “without merit” and confirmed that a plea would be filed in early 2026. The JSE further stated that it had sought legal advice and maintained that its practices were fully compliant with applicable regulatory standards.
While the Commission is seeking a financial penalty of up to 10% of the JSE’s annual turnover — a significant sanction in both financial and reputational terms — the broader implications of this referral resonate beyond South Africa’s borders. As more African countries seek to deepen and diversify their capital markets, the case raises pertinent questions about market access, infrastructure interoperability, and regulatory equity in the broader pan-African financial ecosystem.
The emergence of platforms such as A2X represents a growing shift toward decentralised and competitive trading environments across Africa. These alternatives seek to reduce transaction costs, enhance price discovery, and improve investor access — goals aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) ambitions for intra-African financial integration. In this context, ensuring competitive fairness becomes essential not only to domestic regulatory integrity but also to the broader continental agenda of inclusive and equitable economic development.
The Competition Commission’s action reflects a wider regulatory trend across Africa, where authorities are increasingly scrutinising monopolistic practices that may hinder innovation, growth, and inclusive participation. Whether this case sets a precedent for similar probes across African financial systems remains to be seen, but it underscores a shift toward a more transparent and dynamic market architecture.
While the legal process will unfold over the coming months, its outcome may play a decisive role in shaping the landscape of financial market competition in South Africa and beyond. The stakes are high — not only for the JSE and A2X but also for the broader trajectory of how Africa builds resilient, inclusive, and decentralised financial ecosystems that serve the continent’s complex and interconnected economies.
