The Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) is working towards the creation of a township exchange for very small entrepreneurs, chief executive Nicky Newton-King said in parliament yesterday.

The proposed exchange would provide a platform to raise capital. She said the JSE was working on the eligibility criteria and building technology for the exchange which would have to be cheap, accessible and affordable.

The exchange will exist alongside the main board which has 325 company listings (11 of them black-owned) and the Altx for small enterprises which has 56 listed companies. Newton-King told the public hearings on the transformation of the finance sector organised jointly by the finance and trade and industry committees that as at the end of 2013, 39% of the top 100 companies listed on the JSE was foreign-owned, while "non-blacks" held 14% directly and eight percent indirectly.

Blacks owned 10% of the listed shares directly and 13% indirectly with 16% remaining un-analysed. She noted that there was slightly more black shareholding than white but that more of it was held indirectly by black employees through their pension funds.

The JSE was just about to release the latest statistics for the end of 2015, Newton-King said.

Of the 62 equity trading members on the JSE, 14 were black. Newton-King said the JSE had a programme to assist black stockbroking firms by providing financial assistance for them to develop their firms.

She emphasised that the best way for the JSE to contribute to transformation and inclusive growth had to be centred around its core business which was to provide a platform for people to raise capital and provide a vehicle for people to invest their savings.

This helped the economy to grow and create jobs. The JSE's role was not to dictate what the level of ownership and control should be as this was a national policy issue.