Patrice Motsepe-backed South African stock exchange company expects to break even in 2023

A2X Market, a South African stock exchange company backed by African Rainbow Capital Investments Limited (ARC), said it expects to break even by 2023, as trading in secondary listings takes off on the platform, MoneyWeb reported.

According to the report, the value of stocks and funds on A2X Market more than doubled to R5 trillion ($336 billion) in the past 12 months, with Prosus NV and Investec Plc among the latest to complete secondary listings on the bourse.

ARC is an investment vehicle linked to billionaire mining tycoon Patrice Motsepe. In 2017, ARC bought a 20-percent stake in the new bourse.

At the time, A2X said the transaction terms allowed ARC to increase its equity stake to 25 percent following the company securing its exchange license.

Although founded in 2014, A2X Market is a multilateral trading facility-styled stock exchange that was later awarded a license to operate by regulators in 2017.

The secondary stock exchange* was formed to create a new South African exchange, bringing healthy competition to the South African marketplace.

In September, the company recorded growth in trading levels five times higher than the all-time high set in August.

“We have two brokers that are already trading seamlessly across markets, impacting activity levels and trading for asset managers,” A2X CEO Kevin Brady said. “Most of the asset managers in South Africa are now starting to get executions on A2X, including Ninety One, Allan Gray, the Public Investment Corporation and others.”

As of press time, Oct. 13, A2X Market had 56 companies, a daily value trade of R332.8 million ($22.38 million) listed, and a R4.8-trillion ($322.9 billion) market capitalization.

*The secondary market is where investors buy and sell securities that they already own. Most people typically think of it as the “stock market,” although stocks are also sold on the primary market when they are first issued.