The Namibia Securities Exchange (NSX) is moving to seek regulatory approval from the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) after its members approved plans to demutualise the exchange and convert it into a public company.
NSX Chief Executive Officer Tiaan Bazuin said the vote clears the way for the exchange to complete regulatory requirements and prepare a formal demutualisation application to NAMFISA.
“Our immediate focus now turns to completing the prescribed regulatory requirements and preparing the formal application to NAMFISA. Throughout the remaining process, the NSX will continue to prioritise regulatory independence, market integrity and the uninterrupted operation of the Exchange,” Bazuin said.
The NSX must now finalise requirements under NAMFISA’s Demutualisation of a Self-Regulatory Organisation Standard, including supporting documentation, governance arrangements and the required public notice and inspection process.
Once these requirements are completed, the exchange will submit its formal application to NAMFISA for consideration and approval.
Demutualisation will convert the NSX from a non-proprietary voluntary association into a public company limited by shares, separating ownership of the exchange from membership and trading access rights.
The restructuring will maintain the NSX’s existing operations, assets, liabilities, employees, agreements and regulatory responsibilities.
It is also expected to strengthen the separation between the exchange’s commercial activities and its self-regulatory responsibilities, while introducing safeguards against conflicts of interest and disproportionate control.
The move follows the coming into force of the Financial Institutions and Markets Act, 2021 (FIMA) on 1 May, which makes demutualisation a statutory requirement. NSX members first endorsed the initiative in 2015.
Bazuin said the exchange would continue engaging members, market participants, regulators and other stakeholders as the process moves towards regulatory approval.
The development follows The Brief’s report last week that the NSX was advancing plans to demutualise and targeting completion of its transition into a public company by 2027.
Bazuin previously said that regulatory processes would still have to be completed after securing members’ approval before the NSX could formally become a public company.
The exchange expects the conversion to be completed by around September 2027.
Any potential listing of the NSX itself would be a separate process from the current demutualisation.
