How to Invest in Amazon Shares in South Africa

By Klnam Kurt •  Updated: 11/30/24 •  6 min read

Amazon is among the largest and most influential companies globally, presenting a very enticing investment opportunity for South African investors in international markets. Boasting multi-varied income streams, solid records of outstanding performance, and an innovative approach, Amazon has grown increasingly popular among those set to invest in technology and e-commerce. Accessing Amazon shares can be complex for South Africans, but it is straightforward when equipped with the right tools and strategies. The following guide discusses how one goes about investing in Amazon shares from South Africa.

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Investing in Amazon Shares from South Africa: A Step-by-Step Guide

South Africans can purchase these stocks through various online trading platforms. First, a top-rated broker or an online trading channel is selected. Examples include EasyEquities, Interactive Brokers, & Saxo Bank. These popular options present the ability to trade Amazon shares among other international stocks. Ensure the chosen platform is regulated and covers the NASDAQ, where Amazon is listed.

You will first open an account with the platform of your choice, probably through a registration process where you will fill in some documentation needed to satisfy the identification and proof of residence required for FICA compliance. Then, your account will be verified, and you can fund your trading account.

Most of these portals, however, accept deposits in the local ZAR currency, but you might need to convert this deposit into USD, through which you would be purchasing Amazon shares.

These investments indeed need some crucial research beforehand. Study the financial performance of Amazon, market standing, and growth prospects. Then, external elements such as industrial trends and imminent hazards may affect the company’s share price. You may invest in Amazon shares by creating a buy order through your trading platform with this information. You can specify the number of shares or the amount you wish to invest.

Finally, monitoring is an important exercise to be done regularly with your investment. In other words, one must keep abreast of Amazon’s performance and the general market environment to make timely decisions to hold, buy more, or sell one’s share.

What is the Minimum Investment of Amazon Stock?

There isn’t a minimum amount of money needed to invest in Amazon stock; instead, it all comes down to your trading platform and whether it offers fractional-share investing. Fractional shares are pieces of one share of Amazon that investors are allowed to purchase, thus making the stock much more affordable to investors with strained budgets. This is particularly fabulous for South Africa, given that Amazon’s share price stands relatively high in ZAR terms.

This would mean that one would have to invest quite a substantial amount of capital to buy an entire share if, for instance, Amazon shares were priced at $3,000. With fractional investing, you can afford to invest as low as $10 or R200, depending on the minimum investment a specific platform requires. This corroborates more classes of investors wanting to take up Amazon shares.

How Much Will it Cost to Buy One Share of Amazon?

The price of a single share of Amazon would be its market price at any given moment, based on the interplay between supply and demand. Media accounts rank the cost of an Amazon share regularly, trading thousands of dollars. You can check that on your live stock trading platform or financial news website for an exact quote.

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For investors in South Africa, there is also dependence on the value of the USD/ZAR exchange rate. You will need more rands to buy the same U.S. dollars when this exchange rate increases. Using the same example above, if the price of Amazon shares is $3,000 each, with an exchange rate of 18 ZAR/USD, the cost of one share in ZAR will be 54,000.

Well, now, almost all the trading platforms have fractional shares. You can invest an amount like you know – 300 bucks instead of buying it for 3,000 dollars for one share. You will own 10% of a share. This is lowering entry barriers and making it more viable for South Africans to invest in high-value stocks like Amazon.

Extra fees include brokerage in pricing, platform charges, and currency conversion charges. Peruse the different brokers and seek one with competitive pricing and lower costs while profitable for your investment.

How Much Does One Get Paid for Amazon Shares?

Amazon also does not pay dividends, as it invests its profits into growth and innovation. That pays off with Amazon’s investment in new markets and continued e-commerce and cloud computing leadership. So far, the primary way investors make returns from Amazon shares is through capital appreciation.

Capital gain is achieved when Amazon’s share price appreciates over time. Let us say you buy ONE at $3,000 and sell it at $3,500. Then you realize your profit is $500 per piece. The price of this stock has grown over the years, and hence, it is a critical target for long-term investors whose goal is to gain wealth.

How Do You Make Money with Amazon Shares?

This is majorly driven by capital gain, where one buys the stock at a low price and sells it at a high price. The secret behind making good profits is timing your venture correctly and holding the stocks long enough to enjoy the after-effects of long-term growth.

The constant move of Amazon into new markets, such as cloud computing via AWS and artificial intelligence, adds to the appreciation in value of its stock. As much as it innovates, captures market shares, and so forth, the stock price will similarly grow to offer investors good profit opportunities.

Another method of return is active trading. By understanding the prevalent trends and technical analysis in the market, one could actively trade in Amazon shares in the short run by taking advantage of the price fluctuations. However, this approach is precarious and would demand a lot of experience.

Long-term investing is generally safer and far more effective for a more significant number of South African investors. In the case of Amazon shares, one could use a long-term approach whereby the returns compound with the growing value over the years. The strategy also aligns with Amazon’s growth-oriented model, which focuses on reinvestment instead of dividend payments to its shareholders.

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