Legal updates and opinions
Post Author
News / News
Governance Reforms for Listed Companies
by Kevin Trudgeon, Director and Helena Stoop, Senior Knowledge Lawyer
Listed companies in South Africa are facing a rapidly changing governance landscape. Three key instruments namely, the revised JSE Listings Requirements which took effect on 16 February 2026, the King V Code of Corporate Governance launched in October 2025, and amendments to the Companies Act promulgated in 2024 shape the regulatory framework under which boards must operate.
Although these three instruments address similar key aspects of corporate governance, they differ in purpose, scope and enforceability. This note offers an overview of governance obligations arising under the Companies Act, the JSE Listings Requirements, and King V. It highlights both points of alignment and areas of divergence, with particular focus on board composition, director independence, nomination and election processes, the roles of key officers, and the structure and functioning of board committees.
Each topic is discussed in light of recent developments, and the analysis is complemented by a comparative table that consolidates the requirements currently applicable to listed companies in South Africa.
Download the comparative guide here.
Latest News
Property buyers may be liable for historical debt
In a recent judgement handed down by the Supreme Court of Appeal, the court ruled that a hypothec created by [...]
Remuneration of employees in different provinces
Duma v Minister of Correctional Services & others ISSUE Whether the failure to pay an employee in one [...]
Non-striking employees not to be locked out: limitations of the employer’s right to lock out
Transport and Allied Workers Union of South Africa v PUTCO Limited [2016] ZACC On 8 March 2016, in the [...]
Criminalisation of cartels: a potential cure with side effects
Competition authorities particularly in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia have enacted and entrenched criminal penalties for cartel behaviour. [...]
How to compensate the victims of collusion
In the sphere of competition law, anti-competitive practices can have a detrimental effect on an economy and the performances of [...]
The potential for competition law enforcement to revive and promote faster economic growth in South Africa
On 2 February 2016, the World Bank released its annual economic update report, titled “South Africa Economic Update, Promoting Faster [...]
