South Africa's Economy and Stock Market
The JSE, or the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, has been in operation for nearly a hundred and twenty years, operating primarily as a market place trading in financial products for South Africa. The JSE was first established in 1887 and over the years has moved to a number of different locations. Today it is situated in One Exchange Square in Sandton, Johannesburg. The JSE is rated as the eighteenth largest stock exchange in the whole world.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange plays a major role in providing financial information and has become a successful and modern securities exchange. It provides its customers with electronic trading, agricultural and financial derivatives and the ability to settle and clear equities. The five main companies trading under the Johannesburg Stock Exchange are ANGLO, BHPBILL, SAB, RICHMON DR and ANGLOPLAT.
In 2006 the purchasing power parity was an estimated $576.4 billion, which works out to $13,000 per capita and with a growth rate of 4.5%. The sectors contributing mainly to the GDP were: services at 67%, industry at 30,3% and agriculture at 2.6%. Agricultural products produced in South Africa include dairy products, vegetables, poultry, corn, sugarcane, beef, mutton, wool, fruits and wheat. For 2006 there was a total of $59.15 billion worth of exports to countries like the U.S., Germany, UK, Japan and the Netherlands. Imports for the same year came up to $61.53 billion, which included commodities like chemicals, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, petroleum products and scientific instruments.
The country has a large variety of natural resources to tap into and has well-developed structures in place to allow for relatively smooth running of all the sectors. This includes the financial, energy production, legal, transportation and communication sectors. However, one cannot overlook the negative aspects that have yet to be eradicated in the country, like unemployment, poverty, and little, if no, economic empowerment for those who are considered disadvantaged groups from the apartheid era.
In comparison to the rest of Africa, South Africa is considered a source of economic power with 25 % of the gross domestic product out of the whole continent. South Africa also contributes half of all electricity used on the continent, which works out to 12.4 billion kWh. It has an industrial output of about 40% and produces 45% of all minerals in Africa. The country’s main sectors included metal resources, natural minerals, the economic and physical infrastructure, manufacturing, tourism and service industries - all of which contribute to South Africa's growing economy. When one considers the massive amount of trade which is conducted on the JSE every day, there can be little doubt as to why South Africa’s stock exchange is one of the busiest in the world.
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