The head of South Africa's bourse said on Sunday he was concerned about long-term financial stability after last week's selling frenzy, triggered by the unexpected sacking of the finance minister, wiped nearly $11 billion off share values.
"We should not just be concerned about the immediacy of market reaction but should be mindful of the longer term impact on the financial stability of our economy," the JSE Ltd Chief Executive Nicky Newton-King said.
President Jacob Zuma sacked Nhlanhla Nene late on Wednesday in favour of a relatively unknown lawmaker, David van Rooyen, unnerving investors in an ailing economy whose investment grade status is already at risk.
The removal of Nene, a veteran civil servant in the ministry who was keen to rein in government spending in Africa's most industrialised economy, sent the rand currency to record lows, sparked a sell-off in bank stocks and sent yields in both local and dollar-denominated debt soaring.
The JSE All-share index lost 169.6 billion rand ($10.68 billion) between Thursday and Friday.
"We should remember that behind the daily statistics are the life savings of ordinary South Africans," Newton-King said in a statement. "As individuals and as corporates we need to be aware of how we are impacted by the seriousness of this moment."
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