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The Swaziland Stock Market is a small but thriving stock exchange. The stock exchange was established in July 1990, to enable ordinary Swazis to become stakeholders in their economy. All listings are included in the sole index, the SSM Index, which is unweighted. There are a handful of listed public companies, as well as some listed government stock options, listed debentures, government guaranteed stock and non-trading mutual funds. Exchange Control approval is required for foreigners wishing to invest in the stock market. Stockbrokers on the Exchange are licensed by the Central Bank of Swaziland and there is no regulation regarding the foreign ownership of brokerage firms.

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The Swazi nation, originally came from Mozambique. Archaeologists have found human remains in eastern Swaziland that have been dated to be 110 000 years old, but these were not the ancestors of the Swazi. The Swazi, ruled by Sobhuza I of the Dlamini. During the 1800s European traders, missionaries and hunters moved into the area with the intention of making it their home. In 1877 the British annexed the kingdom. Although the Swaziland Convention of 1881 ensured the areas independence it made the kingdom s great deal smaller. For the next 66 years, Swaziland remained under British control. Many Swazi men left their homes to raise money as mineworkers to buy parts of their land back. British rule in the kingdom was peaceful and by 1963 limited self-government was allowed.

On 6 September 1968 Swaziland was granted complete independence. It was still a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the king, Sobhuza II who had come into power in 1921, became the Head of State. The country was administered by a Cabinet and Prime Minister selected by Parliament. The Swaziland constitution was a product of its previous British rulers and in 1973 King Sobhuza II suspended it. He felt that it did not reflect the culture of the Swazi people. A new constitution was drawn up and presented in 1977. This new constitution made the king the absolute ruler of the kingdom. In 1982 South Africa and Swaziland came to a formal agreement regarding each other's security interests. Towards the end of 1997, the king's powers were slightly reduced and Elections were held in 1998, but the king still held most of the power. Opposition parties were still banned and unions began organizing strikes and bans on imported goods.

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The currency of Swaziland, the lilangeni, is tied to the South African rand at 1:1. Shops in Swaziland often accept and make change for both currencies indiscriminately. This is not the case in South Africa, however, so if you are planning to visit South Africa also, you may prefer to request rand in exchange for emalangeni at banks in Mbabane or Manzini: proof of identity is required. It is impossible to exchange your emalangeni at Johannesburg Airport, as well as in the UK. All Swazi vendors will take Rand, but no South African vendors will take emalangeni. .