Capitec, founded by billionaire Michiel le Roux, lists on a second South African exchange next week

Capitec will begin trading on A2X Markets from Monday, Sept. 7, taking a secondary listing on South Africa's alternative stock exchange while keeping its primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

The bank Michiel le Roux founded in 2001 is not issuing new shares. Its share capital stays unchanged, and the listing simply gives existing shareholders another venue in which to trade, with lower transaction costs that matter most to institutions dealing in volume.

JPMorgan Equities South Africa began trading on the same platform in the same week. That takes the combined share of South African listed securities trading handled by A2X member brokers to 85%.

Two things worth separating there. The 85% figure describes the proportion of trades executed by A2X's member brokers across all venues, not trades executed on A2X itself. It measures the reach of the membership rather than the platform's own market share, though it does mean A2X can now offer access to close to the full depth of institutional South African equity trading through its brokers.

Ockie Raubenheimer, who heads South African cash equities execution at JPMorgan, said the decision came from client demand, and that trading on A2X expands access to liquidity and supports best-execution objectives. A2X chief executive Kevin Brady said JPMorgan's participation adds depth to the platform's liquidity, and that A2X offers brokers and their clients meaningful cost savings and improved execution quality.

The bank joins Peresec Prime Brokers, RMB Morgan Stanley and SBG Securities among A2X members. It has operated in South Africa for years, serving clients from Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Grant Hardy, Capitec's chief financial officer, said the secondary listing supports the bank's commitment to shareholder value by providing an additional trading venue and improved liquidity.

Capitec traded at about 4,644 rand a share on Sept. 3, among the highest-priced stocks on the Johannesburg exchange. The bank has 26 million active clients and has consistently ranked among South Africa's most valuable listed companies. Le Roux holds roughly 11%, worth about 27 billion rand or $1.66 billion at that price, though Forbes' daily billionaires ranking put his total fortune at $3.7 billion on Sept. 1.

A2X launched in 2017 as a lower-cost alternative to the JSE and has been adding brokers and listings since. It now carries 167 securities including 30 constituents of the top 40 index, with a combined market capitalisation above 13 trillion rand, roughly $800 billion.

What the platform has lacked is the institutional depth that keeps large investors on the JSE. Adding one of the world's largest banks and one of South Africa's most closely watched stocks in the same week addresses both halves of that problem at once.