Finance Minister responds to question about white and black ownership of JSE’s R25 trillion

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said that a breakdown of the JSE’s R25 trillion in investments based on white and black ownership is not available.

Godongwana shared this information in a response to a question by a member of Parliament, Thandiswa Marawu.

She asked the Finance Minister what the value of the companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange was.

She also asked what percentage of the specified companies is owned by white South Africans in comparison to black South Africans and other racial groups.

He said the total market capitalisation of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is approximately R25.12 trillion.

“The JSE has a total of 263 listed companies, of which 59 are foreign companies,” Godongwana said in his written reply.

He added that data on the racial composition of ownership of shares listed on the JSE is not readily available.

This is due to the structure of shareholding, where investments are often held through multiple layers of intermediaries.

These intermediaries include custodians, pension funds, unit trusts, and nominee accounts.

“As a result, it is difficult to accurately determine the race of the underlying beneficial investors,” he said.

“Where such analysis has previously been undertaken, it has relied on specialised research and estimation methodologies rather than directly observable data.”