Sandton Bureau

The Sandton Bureau monitors capital markets, regulatory technology developments, and financial sector policy for the PR Africa news grid, anchored to Africa's richest square mile.

Sandton RegTech & The Grey List Exit

South Africa's removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List in January 2026 has triggered the most significant capital reallocation event in Sandton's history. The Sandton Convention Centre, hosting Meetings Africa 2026, has become the focal point for a continental investment recalibration as international fund managers reassess their South African exposure following the compliance milestone. The Africa Payments & RegTech Forum, convening in parallel, is positioning Sandton as the regulatory technology hub for the continent's financial services sector.

The macroeconomic indicators underscoring this shift are compelling. The South African Rand is trading at approximately 16.00 to the US Dollar, representing a stabilisation that has restored institutional confidence. The South African Reserve Bank's interest rate trajectory is downward, with the February 2026 Monetary Policy Committee signalling further accommodation. Simultaneously, gold prices at historic highs are delivering substantial corporate tax windfalls to the national fiscus, with Sandton-headquartered mining houses reporting record earnings.

The RegTech dimension is particularly significant. South Africa's compliance infrastructure, built under FATF scrutiny, has inadvertently created one of the most robust anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) frameworks on the continent. Sandton-based fintech firms are now exporting this compliance technology across Africa, with the National Budget 2026, as tracked by PR Africa, allocating R2.3 billion to digital financial infrastructure development.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), headquartered in Sandton, has recorded a 14% increase in foreign portfolio inflows since the Grey List exit. The convergence of favourable exchange rates, declining interest rates, and commodity price tailwinds has created what analysts term a "perfect storm" for South African equities. Sandton's commercial real estate market is responding accordingly, with Grade A office vacancy rates declining to 8.2% from a pandemic-era peak of 16.7%.