British American Tobacco, Glencore, Prosus, Richemont, Naspers, and Anglo American are just a few of the well-known names that make up the top 10 most valuable corporations listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
Several conduct considerable business in the country, while others, including BHP Billiton, do not. All six of the most valuable firms in South Africa are headquartered abroad and trade primarily on international stock exchanges, with the JSE serving only as a secondary listing.
In this way, South African investors can have access to international markets without leaving the country or converting their currency.
Due to the market capitalization and revenue dominance of these companies, the performance of the local index is not highly correlated with the performance of the South African economy.
Here, we explore the top performers on the JSE that drive the JSE All Share Index.
1. BHP Billiton (BHG)
BHP Billiton, headquartered in Melbourne, is one of the world’s most diversified miners on the JSE all share index. It has more than 90 mines in more than 30 countries, employs more than 80,000 people, and brought in $65 billion in sales in 2022 alone.
The company primarily operates in Australia, Chile, the United States, Canada, and Peru, and extracts copper, nickel, potash, iron, and coal. Its sole presence in Africa is an oil refinery in Algeria.
BHP is listed on both the Australian Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. BHP’s subsidiary, South32, was spun off in 2015 and is now a publicly traded business with a market cap of R234 billion on the JSE.
2. Prosus (PRX)
This Amsterdam-based IT investor has major holdings in Tencent, Delivery Hero, Auto Trader, Luno, and Byju’s, among other consumer internet heavyweights.
Prosus is dual-listed on the Euronext Amsterdam and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges. The firm’s ownership structure is intricate, with Naspers serving as the majority shareholder while the company itself holds a sizeable stake in Naspers.
Koos Bekker, a South African billionaire who helped start MultiChoice, invested in Tencent through Naspers, and served as a founding director of MTN, is the chair of Prosus.
Although its founders and executives are from South Africa, Prosus is not headquartered there and generates almost all of its revenue from markets outside the continent.
👉Open a Free Trading Account Now
3. AB InBev (ANH)
The Belgian city of Leuven is home to AB InBev, the world’s largest brewery. In 2022, the country’s 175 breweries churned out 517.99 million hectoliters of beer.
In 2016, AB InBev paid $107 billion to acquire SABMiller, combining the two largest brewers in the world into a single entity. They account for around half of the industry’s total revenue when combined.
SAB’s headquarters are still located in Bryanston, Johannesburg, South Africa.
SAB employs 5,657 locals to keep its massive businesses running smoothly in South Africa. It is anticipated that 3,739 suppliers and 1,277 farmers in South Africa are directly or indirectly employed as a result of the value chain.
4. British American Tobacco (BAT)
BAT, which has called London home since its founding in 1902, cranks out more than 600 billion cigarettes per year.
To lessen its harmful public health impact, the corporation is shifting its focus from conventional cigarettes to electronic cigarettes and other tobacco heating devices.
Even though Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan are BAT’s most important regions, South Africa is still a “top market” for the company.
Also read: Vukile shines with 62% cash dividend growth, stellar operations and win-win solar solutions
