Trading Halt in Biggest Botswana Grocer to Be Probed by JSE

  • Johannesburg Stock Exchange says it wasn’t told of suspension
  • More than 6 million shares traded before halt took effect
A Choppies logo sits on the handle of a shopping carts.Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/
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The Johannesburg Stock Exchange will investigate why it wasn’t informed of a trading halt in Botswana’s biggest grocer until long after the securities were suspended by its counterparts in Gaborone.

About 6 million shares traded in Choppies Enterprises Ltd. on the Johannesburg market before the announcement at 12:47 p.m. local time on Thursday that the securities have been suspended, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Botswana Stock Exchange had announced a halt pending an announcement of a delay in the company’s audited financial statements just before 10 a.m.