Anglo American rules out BSE exit

Anglo American has ruled out any review of its Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) listing, with the local bourse also confirming the miner never identified Gaborone among the markets earmarked for exit during its global reassessment of international listings.

A Swiss regulatory filing reviewed by The Business Weekly & Review shows the review extended beyond deciding which exchanges to keep. It also records the criteria Anglo used to determine which listings survived as the group reshaped its global footprint following its merger with Canada's Teck Resources.

Speaking during a media briefing earlier this week, BSE Chief Executive Officer Aupa Monyatsi said discussions with Anglo American executives in London confirmed Botswana was never among the exchanges identified for exit during the company's review of its international listings.

"We were there in London when they were talking about this Anglo-Teck merger, and they released a list of the exchanges they are divesting from. Botswana is not in that list. It is a fact. It is not speculation," Monyatsi said.

Anglo American has since reinforced that position.

"I can confirm that Anglo American has no plans to review its current listings," Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs James Wyatt-Tilby told he Business Weekly & Review.

The documentary trail behind those assurances begins with Anglo's review of its global listings as part of the merger with Canada's Teck Resources.

A ruling issued by Swiss exchange regulator SIX Exchange Regulation states that Anglo reviewed the exchanges on which the two companies were listed "to determine which listings it will retain upon completion of the merger."

The review therefore extended well beyond Switzerland. It examined the combined group's global listing footprint. Switzerland did not survive.

In its delisting announcement, Anglo said it decided to leave the SIX Swiss Exchange because of "a prolonged period of low trading volumes" and "the regulatory burden associated with multiple secondary listings." The Swiss regulator reached the same conclusion before approving the delisting, which became effective on 26 June 2026.

Botswana, however, remained, with the regulator noting that Anglo "expects to retain listings on the LSE, JSE, BSE and NSX."

According to the filing, Anglo told regulators the retained exchanges were either "liquid markets, accessible to a broad, global investor base" or were "located in jurisdictions in which the Group has significant operations."

For decades, Botswana has been one of Anglo American's most significant operating jurisdictions through its shareholding in De Beers and its indirect interest in Debswana.

Yet Anglo's latest half-year results outline a different future.

Chief Executive Officer Duncan Wanblad said Anglo was "unlocking the full potential" of a business anchored around copper, premium iron ore, manganese and crop nutrients, while confirming that the separation of De Beers continues to advance.

Taken together, the documents leave two facts beyond dispute. The first is that Anglo has no plans to review its current listings. The second is that Botswana survived the company's global listing review because Anglo told regulators the exchange met one of two criteria: it was either a liquid global market or located in a jurisdiction where the group had significant operations.

The filings, however, stop there. They do not address whether the planned separation of De Beers affects the second part of that rationale.

And that matters because Anglo American is not simply another foreign counter on the Botswana Stock Exchange.

Earlier this year, the exchange surpassed P1 trillion in total market capitalisation for the first time in its history. Analysis by t he Business Weekly & Review showed Anglo American accounted for approximately P868.8 billion, representing 89.1 percent of the equity market's value and more than 82 percent of the exchange's total market capitalisation .

Its presence therefore shapes not only the size of the BSE but also its international profile.

For now, Anglo's position is clear, with the company saying it has no plans to review its listings. Additionally, its Swiss filings explain why Botswana survived the last review.

Whether that reasoning remains unchanged once the business that has historically underpinned Botswana's position within Anglo leaves the group is not addressed in the public filings.