Financial Services

On their own, smaller emerging markets often struggle to achieve the necessary critical mass in their capital markets to support economic growth. Smaller stock exchanges are often insufficient in scale to justify international investors expending resources to track and invest in them. For this reason, the regional integration of exchanges is a...

The Company 

Woolworths Holdings is an investment holding company, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and operates through two subsidiaries, Woolworths (Proprietary) and Country Road, as well as a joint venture – Woolworths Financial Services...

Amidst a period of market-led consolidation, the continent’s largest pension industry is now facing the prospect of wholesale reform of South Africa’s social security system. While the fiscal implications remain unclear, more inclusive retirement coverage has emerged as a key government priority, alongside health insurance reform (see Health...

Competition in South Africa’s highly concentrated banking sector has led to it having the highest penetration rates – both in terms of credit to GDP and banked customers – of any other African country. The sector had recovered from the effects of the global financial crisis on the real economy by the start of 2012, but significant uncertainties...

Home to the globe’s 19th-largest exchange, South Africa has mature capital markets able to serve not only the domestic economy but also the wider continent. While its sophisticated nature allows the country to tap financial resources at a lower cost than any of its African peers, its openness has also exposed the economy to the volatilities of...