For the fourth consecutive year, South Africa ranked No. 1 out of 148 countries for regulation of securities exchanges and No. 3 for market development by the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report.

This indicates the country is still open for business, highly competitive, and remains the market leader in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a report in AllAfrica.

It was good news for Africa’s largest economy after a year of bearish commentary on South Africa’s slow growth, waves of industrial strikes and negative ratings on its sovereign debt, the report said.

“We are very pleased with this accolade for South Africa, which indicates that the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is a secure and credible environment to raise capital and in which to invest,” said John Burke, Johannesburg Stock Exchange director of issuer regulation. “Investors, regardless of size, can have a high level of comfort when using the exchange. This ranking is also testament to the JSE and (it’s regulator) the Financial Services Board’s sound working relationship.”

Investors could also take comfort in the ranking as a testament to South Africa’s auditing and reporting standards; efficiency of corporate boards; and protection of minority shareholders’ interests, Burke said. “South Africa has access to deep pools of capital both from our well-developed local investment community and high participation of foreign investors. This makes the exchange an ideal destination to raise capital for development in the region.”