The B-BBEE partner of Imperial Holdings, Ukhamba Holdings Proprietary Limited, was first to list on the new Equity Express Securities Exchange (EESE). EESE is the fifth licensed exchange to commence operations in South Africa. Ukhamba has a market capitalisation of R 340 million.
The defining characteristics of EESE are:
- Issuer imposed restrictions
- Share register forms the basis of the trading platform
- Issuers determine which brokers may trade shares
- Centralised shareholder accounting
- Centralised FICA
We are delighted to announce our first listing on the exchange. For the past four years the trading of Ukhamba shares was facilitated by Equity Express on an OTC basis. Ukhamba supported EESE’s stock exchange licence application which has ensured that the Equity Express trading platform could continue to be used in a listed environment.
– Anthony Wilmot, EESE CEO
We congratulate EESE on this milestone in their business journey and thank them for their investment in ensuring a platform that addresses the need for inclusivity in financial markets. We trust that our shareholders will continue to find value in the user friendliness, reliability and access provided by our partnership with EESE.
– Berenice Francis, Ukhamba Director
One of the Equity Express Securities Exchange’s differentiators is its ability to regulate trading in restricted counters. Ukhamba restricts ownership and trading in its shares to only historically disadvantaged South Africans. This shareholding restriction is inherently enforced by the trading platform ensuring consistency of historically disadvantaged South African shareholders in Ukhamba. The EESE trading system will prevent the trade from taking place if the shareholder does not meet the restrictions set by the issuer. This feature makes the exchange the perfect option for companies wishing to ensure that their broad-based black economic empowerment share rules are consistently adhered to.
Singular Systems has been appointed as the sole broker and verification agent to facilitate the trade in these shares. All shares in Ukhamba settle in a prefunded market on a T+0 basis and Nedbank acts as the Central Securities Depository Participant for this market.
