Johannesburg, 25 March 2020: The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) plays a key role in maintaining the South African capital markets infrastructure. As the country prepares for a national lockdown at midnight on Thursday 26 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the JSE crisis management plans remain aligned with the government’s directive.

The Government has identified the JSE and its market as an essential service required to enable smooth functioning of the markets during the 21-day lockdown period. The services that have been identified as necessary to maintain the functioning of the JSE are:

• Authorised users of the JSE (including brokers, banks, including trading and clearing members)
• Buy side (including asset managers, financial service providers, pension and hedge funds)
• Central Securities Depository Participant (CSDP)
• Central Securities Depository (Strate)
• Central Bank Payment System (Samos)
• Fund Administrators and Fund Services
• Trading and Clearing Software Providers
• Securities Lending Desks
• Equity and Debt Sponsors and Designated Advisors
• Entities that publish announcements for listed companies (e.g. INCE and Bastion)
• Data Vendors
• Essential JSE Vendors

In accordance with Government’s directive, all entities designated as essential services are required to identify key individuals in their organisations critical to maintaining efficient running of the continent’s largest stock exchange. Entities designated to be essential services are required to provide their critical employees with permits if these staff are unable to work remotely.

In order to support the objectives of the lockdown the JSE continues to ensure that a large majority of staff continue to work remotely. Only critical employees will work from the office as and when necessary. Permits will be obtained principally for critical staff that are essential to the fair and orderly operation of the JSE’s markets.

“Our main focus during this time is to ensure we partner and support government in their nationwide attempt to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country whilst ensuring that we enable the continuity of our markets by ensuring that we trade, clear and settle effectively,” says Leila Fourie, Group CEO of the JSE.

ENDS