The largest company in Africa, Naspers, has listed part of its holding in the Dutch Stock Exchange – Euronext. The South African firm involved in internet services, entertainment, media, and ecommerce accounts for approximately 25 percent of the weighting at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Naspers began operating as a newspaper business more than a century ago and evolved into the technology giant it is today. The company was one of the earliest investors in the Chinese internet firm Tencent and currently holds 31 percent of the shares.
The firm had been planning to list outside South Africa as a way to attract foreign investors, reduce its enormous size, and close the gap between its south African subsidiary valued at $97.9 billion (KSh9.9 trillion) and its Chinese subsidiary – Tencent – valued at $ 133 billion (KSh13.4 trillion).
Naspers will list on the Amsterdam exchange Euronext its 31 percent stake in Tencent, holdings in other firms such as; Russian internet firm Mail.Ru, Indian ecommerce business Swiggy, and a food delivery company.
In a phone interview with Bloomberg, Naspers CEO Van Dijk said, “When the transaction is complete about a quarter of the Naspers market value will have moved from the JSE.” The executive said he chose to list in Amsterdam because the listing rules are similar to those at the JSE and it’s a “great place to attract talent.”
