# ICT Adoption and Stock Market Development: Empirical Evidence Using a Panel of African Countries
## 3 An Overview of the African Stock Markets  
The African stock markets have witnessed sustained growth over the years. This section presents the key metrics of eleven African stock exchanges which form the unit of analysis of this study. The key metrics are presented in Table 2. Suffice to highlight that, on the one hand, JSE is the most developed whilst, on the other hand, the BRVM is the least developed, as evidenced by their market capitalisation. The JSE was formed in 1887. It is sub-Saharan Africa's oldest stock exchange. Further, the JSE is the most highly developed in sub-Saharan Africa. The JSE was formed during the gold rush of the late 1800s. This is notable, as Johannesburg is also called gold city and the gold capital of South Africa. Furthermore, in the early 1990s, the JSE upgraded its trading platform to an electronic trading system. Then, in 2005, the JSE demutualised and also listed on its own exchange (Johannesburg Stock Exchange 2019). The notable ICT-driven improvement towards stock market development, regional cooperation and integration among the 14 South African Development Community (SADC) member states initiated by the JSE was aptly documented by [PERSON] (2005). The initiatives include the harmonised stock exchange listing requirements. In 2000, based on the 13 principles of the JSE's listing requirements, the JSE's electronic trading system, known as the Johannesburg Equities Trading (JET) system, was installed. In 2002, the JSE adopted the London Stock Exchange's trading system technology, which is known as the Stock Exchange Electronic Trading System (SETS). In addition, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) provided technical support and trading system upgrades and enhancements that enabled brokers in both South Africa and the United Kingdom to access one another's stock markets. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Variable Name** & **Empirical Studies** & **Apriori Expectation** \\ \hline NFTS = Number of Fixed Telephone & [PERSON] (2015); [PERSON] et al. (2009) & Increase in number of fixed telephone \\ Subscription per & [PERSON] (2015); [PERSON] et al. (2009) & subscriptions leads to increase in stock \\  & & market development. \\ \hline NBU = Number of Broadband Users & [PERSON] et al. (2011) & Broadband user increase leads to \\  & & economic development. \\ \hline IU = Number of Internet Users & [PERSON] (2015); [PERSON] et al. (2009); & Increased Internet usage (with technical \\  & [PERSON] (2002); [PERSON] et al. (2011) & knowledge) should have a significant \\  & & positive stock market development or \\  & & economic growth. \\ \hline NMU = Number of Mobile & [PERSON] (2015); [PERSON] et al. (2009); & Positive relationship between the number \\   Phone Users & [PERSON] (2002); [PERSON] et al. (2011) & of mobile users and stock market \\  & & development or economic growth. \\ \hline SMTR = Stock Market Turnover Ratio & [PERSON] et al. (2011); [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2014) & An increase in SMTR should bring about \\   in percentage & [PERSON] et al. (2011); [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2014) & increase in GDP. \\ \hline SMC = Stock Market Capitalisation as & [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2015) & An increase in MCap should bring about \\   a percentage of GDP & & increase in GDP. \\ \hline NLC = Number of Listed Companies & [PERSON] et al. (2009) & An increase in listed companies \\   per 10,000 people & [PERSON] et al. (2009) & significantly influences economic \\  & & development. \\ \hline SMTV = Stock Market Total Value & [PERSON] et al. (2009) & An increase in number of shares traded \\   Traded as a percentage of GDP & & should bring about increase in GDP. \\ \hline Control Variable: & [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2011) & Freer and more open economies \\   FFI = Financial Freedom Index & [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2011) & experience higher growth rates. \\ \hline GDP = Gross Domestic Product & [PERSON] et al. (2011) & Personal computers and GDP per capita \\  & & increase the liquidity, size and activity of \\  & & financial systems. \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}