More than 40% of JSE counters now electronic

Johannesburg, 31 May 2001

More than 40% of all listed securities have moved to the electronic settlement environment since the introduction of Strate's dematerialisation programme earlier this year.

Gaming Web site company The Internet Gaming Corporation (I-Gaming) tops the list of dematerialisation penetration, with 96.74% of the company's issued share capital having been converted to the electronic form.

I-Gaming has overtaken Harmony Options' 96.17%, with IT company Synergy lying third on 95.44%.

Gold mining company Harmony was the first company to have its shares transferred to an electronic record when Strate began its pilot phase in late 1999.

The dematerialisation programme began in earnest three months ago, with 20 companies a week being transferred to the new electronic settlement system. The schedule is planned so that by the end of the year, every counter on the JSE will have entered the Strate environment.

"We have already passed the 300 mark," says Strate CEO Monica Singer. "The dematerialisation activity in shares of listed companies falling under the Strate umbrella is in excess of our expectations.

"Significantly, although shares to the value of R70 billion have been dematerialised, there has not been a single instance of tainted scrip."

Tainted scrip arises in a paper-based settlement system when share certificates are stolen or lost and then negotiated with a forged transfer document. As a result someone may hold a genuine share certificate but is not reflected in the register as the owner of the securities.