TUESDAY, 11.00AM
GENCOR’s newly unbundled base metals group Billiton found investors eager at its Johannesburg Stock Exchange launch on Monday, with local investors grabbing the shares at a slight premium to the price on the London Stock Exchange, where Billiton also saw its first day of formal trade.
Billiton shares on Monday were the third biggest contributor (R35,19-million) to the JSE’s turnover, with 2,1-million shares changing hands. The counter traded between R16,50 and R16,70 for most of the day, before a brief spurt in the last two minutes of trade saw the share trade at R17,40, before dropping back slightly to R17,20 at the close.
Billiton’s UK debut, however, was somewhat more restrained, with the counter trading on the London Stock Exchange only half a penny above its informal trade close on Friday, and around the same 220p level it was launched at. Local analysts believe the price discrepancy between the two markets will not last long.