Market Abuse Regulation in SADC: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe

The book provides a contemporary exploration into the adequacy of the anti-market abuse regulatory and enforcement frameworks in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, especially South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Notably, this exploration is undertaken in light of the ongoing corona virus (covid-19) pandemic-induced global economic challenges that are currently felt in the SADC region. Moreover, the book unpacks the regulatory and enforcement challenges brought by new technological innovations as well as the increased usage and/or reliance on social media and the Internet for securities trading and corporate communications by many companies and market participants in the SADC region. It exposes the current gaps and flaws in the anti-market abuse laws of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and other SADC countries in relation to their scope of application, adequacy of their offences, penalties, defences and enforcement to combat market abuse activities in the relevant financial markets. The book outlines several problems associated with the poor enforcement of the anti-market abuse legislation in the SADC region and it recommends possible solutions to such problems to increase deterrence, detection, investigation, settlement, and prosecution of market abuse cases in the capital and financial markets of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and other SADC countries. For instance, the book recommends the adoption of uniform anti-market abuse legislation that is homogeneously enforced in the SADC region and the adoption of innovative technological measures such as artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the regulation, prevention, detection, and investigation of market abuse activities in the SADC financial markets.