4Sight becomes the first AltX company to transfer its listing to JSE Main Board General Segment

This is a Power 98.7 Podcast. Now, we're talking. Subscribe to Power 98.7 Podcasts in iTunes, wherever you get your podcasts. There's more on power987.co.zade.

foresight, a multinational technology group has become the first company to transition from the JSC's ALT-X platform to the main board's general segment. The move follows the JSC's market segmentation project, which repositioned the main board into two distinct segments, prime and general, providing a tailored level of regulation for companies of varying sizes.

Thank you so much for having me and hello to you listeners.

Fantastic. So Sam, foresight testing marks a really significant milestone as the first Altix company to transition to the main board general segment. Talk to us about how does the JSC view this as a step forward in the markets of evolution? Yeah, thank you. Thank you for the question. We obviously are looking to make sure that at all times our regulations and our rules

provide both issue of investor protection and helps listed companies actually provide the required information for investors. Now, what we had found is that some of your larger companies had become so large that their reporting requirements had become quite complicated. I mean, some of the large caps are over a trillion rand in market cap.

And what had happened was that the rules had become so complicated for smaller companies, you know, companies with 50 million ran market caps, a fraction of the size of your large guys. So what we've done is we've separated the main board into premium segment as well as a standard segment. The standard segment is voluntary for those companies who are not large enough to be in the OSHA index.

And so since we got these rules approved by the FSCA, financial sector conduct authority, we then have had 22 companies move from the premium segment into the standard segment. What's interesting about foresight is that they went from alt-x upwards into the standard segment. And so that's really exciting.

to see a smaller business that's been growing phenomenally. The share price has really performed well in the last little while and really giving good value for investors and moving up and saying, look, we want to be counted among the big boys. We want to show how serious we are. We want to open up to a wider variety of investors. And so we were very excited this morning to welcome them onto

as the main board with the blowing of the Godzilla and the kuduhorn and the blowing of the drums as we do at the JFE. Certainly it sounds like it was a vibrant celebration, but the market segmentation project which introduced the general segment is a key factor in foresight's transition. Talk to us about how does this initiative then help facilitate growth for companies like foresight? 100%. So if you think about it, before we had the general segment,

you would have to make a big jump from the altex. And the altex really is there for young growing businesses. You can even list a company on the altex board of the JSE as a startup. But all of a sudden to make that jump from the altex to the main board was quite a big jump from a regulatory perspective and a governance perspective and information perspective.

you'd have to hire a whole team to upgrade your reporting requirements, et cetera, et cetera. So this is a gentler step into the main board. And so the standard segment then allows companies which are growing and doing well, like foresight, to really provide themselves as an investment opportunity for a wider set of investors

without that massive jump to the kind of reporting level that the premium segment requires. Now, Sam, looking then at economic growth, technology companies such as foresight, they play a pivotal role in economic growth. How does the JSC see the technology sector influencing the future of the South African economy, especially with companies like foresight taking a step?

100%. I mean, we're very excited about the AI drive that foresight is working on. In fact, this morning, during the celebrations, as well as on the press release, they announced a partnership with Microsoft, as well as an international firm that's strong in the data, analytics, and AI space in mining.

I'll be down in mining in Dubber next week showcasing this new development. And so those are real exciting developments for us as we see some African innovation hopping onto the latest trends in terms of global technology trends like artificial intelligence to give us some real world

experiences and solutions like what we're seeing in the mining space. So we're very supportive of the technology segment and we are seeing good earnings growth across various technology companies and them as they take on these new innovations to stack value.

All right. And then given then that foresight has successfully transitioned, do you foresee other companies following in their footsteps? And what would be then the key factors driving this trend? Yeah, so we do expect to see more alt text companies moving up to the standard segment.

As I mentioned, we've already seen 22 main board companies go from premium to standard. So that's exciting to see, to see that they're taking advantage of the change in rules.

And so we do expect other alt text companies to take the move up if you want to call it that to really showcase their growth. And I think it's great exposure for alt text companies as they move up.

And then talk to me about, you know, with the option then for foresight to issue shares without shareholder approval, how does such regulatory changes impact liquidity and the ability of companies to feel their growth? Sure. So, so what we've said around the rules is that we want to give shareholders still good authority that they can give the companies that kind of authority upfront.

with things like issuing shares, they don't have to come back every single time. Of course, that's if it's not a massive transaction. So these kind of regulatory moves, we've also shortened, for example, the time it's lengthened, the time in which you have to produce your annual results. To put less pressure on the accounting teams from three months to four months, for example,

I like the premium segment where you have to do it in three months. And so these kind of changes just give companies flexibility. And as you mentioned, it gives them more opportunity to do things like raise capital and also issue new shares so that there may be more liquidity in their shares. And I think also, some institutional investors, for example,

are unable to invest in alt X shares. And so from a liquidity perspective, you now have a bigger pool of potential investors. And that typically helps motivate liquidity in your share.

And then I guess, you know, Sam, just to wrap up the conversation, then, there's been a notable increase in market activity with eight companies existing on the JSC last year. What does this trend sort of indicate about a current market sentiment and investor confidence in South Africa's capital markets? Yeah, so look, on a personal note, I mean, it's been a really busy January. And apart from all the engagements we've had with government, engagements we've had with companies,

there's really been a positive outlook to the year. And we are certainly hoping that that will result in more companies listing on the JSE this year. We have already seen in our daily volumes traded that people are trading more. And so that's typically a good sign for the right market conditions.

for issuers to come to the market. Some issuers have already publicly mentioned that they would like to list when conditions are right. People like Coca-Cola bottling Africa, people lifetime bank, African bank, et cetera. So even Fidelity ADT. So whenever they're ready, we're ready. And so we look forward to welcoming these fantastic South African businesses onto the boss.

All right, on that fantastic note, we'll leave it there, Sam. Thank you so much for your time. That's really good to speak. Fantastic. That was Sam Mukorosi, head of Origination and deals at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, taking us through that update. Foresight becomes the first Altix company to transfer its listing to the JSC's main board general segment.

You've been listening to a Power 98.7 Podcast. For more podcasts, visit power987.co.za or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.