News
August on the WSE
The highlight of August was the launch of NewConnect, a new WSE market under the Alternative Trading System formula. NewConnect was launched on 30 August with shares of 5 companies traded in the first session (more in the NewConnect section below).
IPOs
In August, 5 companies had their IPOs on the WSE main market. The largest IPO was that of Bomi at PLN 98 million.
3 August was the first trading day of the shares of the company Zakłady Urządzeń Kotłowych Stąporków. The companys core business is to design and produce solutions for the energy sector and the construction industry. The company is a leading supplier of the Polish energy sector.
16 August was the first trading day of the shares of the company Quantum Software on the WSE. The company develops computer software supporting logistic processes and implements comprehensive IT systems in companies. The companys flagship product is the Qguar system which has had around 200 implementations in Poland and across Europe.
20 August brought the IPO of the company Przedsiębiorstwo Produkcyjno-Handlowe Bomi. The companys business is to sell staple consumer products in retail trade via a chain of luxury deli groceries. The chain has 21 delis in 9 cities across Poland.
23 August was the first trading day of the shares of the company Krakchemia on the WSE. The companys business is retail and wholesale trade in chemical products. The largest part of the companys income is derived from sales of plastic granulates. Most of the companys sales are on the domestic market.
On 27 August, the company Zastal had its IPO. Zastal was listed on the CeTO market over the past 9 years. The companys core business is to lease office, production and warehouse space and to manufacture steel structures for the construction of production, warehouse and commercial facilities.
WSE Members
In August, one new foreign broker was admitted to operation in the WSE main market as a remote member, and one broker submitted an application for membership. Remote membership gives foreign brokers direct access to the WSE system without the need of physical presence in Poland or use of local intermediaries.
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On 8 August, the WSE Management Board admitted NeoNet Securities AB with its seat in Stockholm to operation on the WSE as a remote exchange member. NeoNet Securities is the third Swedish broker to operate on the WSE. The broker gives access to 23 markets and is a member of several exchanges including OMX Stockholm, OMX Helsinki, Oslo Stock Exchange, Copenhagen Stock Exchange, Frankfurt Stock Exchange (XETRA), London Stock Exchange, Euronext (Paris, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Brussels), Borsa Italiana, Virt-X, Swiss Exchange, Irish Stock Exchange, Vienna Stock Exchange.
On 8 August, the Estonian bank AS Hansapank with its seat in Tallinn submitted an application for the admission to operation on the WSE as a remote exchange member. AS Hansapank is listed on the Tallinn Stock Exchange.
AS Hansapank is a member of the Swedish banking group Swedbank Group and one of the largest financial institutions in the Baltic States. Swedbank Group operates in the home markets of Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Russia, Denmark, Finland, China, Norway, Japan, Luxembourg, Spain, and the USA.
At the end of August, there were 42 Exchange Members including 16 remote members from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, and Estonia.
Other Events
On 9 August, the WSE presented the outcome of a recent survey on the share of investor groups in exchange trading and the activity of Poles in the capital market. The survey covered the first half of 2007.
The recent survey results suggest that the structure of investors in the cash market remained balanced while the share of institutional and foreign investors in trading in the forward and options market grew. In equities trading, foreign investors had a share of 31% in that period, domestic institutional investors 35%, and domestic individual investors 34%. In the forward market, foreign investors had a 12% share in trading, domestic institutional investors 31%, and local individual investors 57%.
12.7 million Poles hold stocks through open-ended pension funds. There are 943 thousand investment accounts opened with brokerage houses, including 327 thousand active accounts.
On 20 August, the "db Magiczna Trójka II" bonds issued by the London Branch of Deutsche Bank AG entered the WSE. The bonds were issued under the single passport rule. The db Magiczna Trójka II bonds offer gains based on a growing value of portfolios linked to various markets (equities, money, commodities, real estate). The WSE listing of the Deutsche Bank products ensures continuous access to their market valuation and the opportunity to close transactions at this price without an extra charge.
On 27 August, the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) signed a co-operation agreement. The agreement provides for an exchange of experience and information between the markets. The ceremony of signing the agreement was attended by the Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Poland Nguyen Van Xuong.
In August for the first time in the history of the WSE the monthly volume of trading in forward contracts on the WIG-20 index exceeded 1 million contracts (and was 1,051,685 contracts). Year to date (8 months of trading), the volume was over 5.7 million contracts, representing more than 90% of the annual 2006 volume (the volume was 6.2 million contracts in 2006).
Key Statistics
63 companies listed in the main market reported positive returns.
Trading in the cash market was PLN 38,004 million, down 15% month on month. Trading in the forward market was PLN 74,646 million, up 22% month on mont.
*based on the value of contracts/options
**excluding block trading
The NewConnect market, organised and operated by the Warsaw Stock Exchange to finance the growth of young companies with a large growth potential, was launched on 30 August. In view of the issuers profile, the NewConnect market offers more liberal formal requirements and information obligations, resulting in less expensive equity. NewConnect was conceived as a launch pad for listed companies in the exchange market and a gateway to the WSE main market.
The opening ceremony was attended by many prominent figures in the Polish financial community. The guest of honour was Professor Zyta Gilowska, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
WSE President Ludwik Sobolewski who opened the first trading session of the new WSE market said: Today we give companies and investors a new equities market on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. It is a new connection between companies and the public market. Today NewConnect is 5 companies, but it will soon host many Polish companies willing to raise equity to grow and to build up their brands. NewConnect is new, effective transition from idea, concept, discovery, innovation to real business. It is a new quality of investment, a market for investors who know what risk is. Today we witness more than the launch of a new WSE market. It is an important part of a plan to create a regional equities trading centre in Warsaw. I believe that the capital market will have the vision, the determination, and the courage to pursue this plan.
Stocks of 5 companies were traded in the first session: Digital Avenue, S4E, ViaGuara, Virtual Vision, and Wrocławski Dom Maklerski. Investors placed 11,240 orders, 5,271 transactions were closed, and the volume of trading was PLN 34,171,354. The prices of all debut stocks were on the increase. The NewConnect capitalisation after the first trading session was PLN 675,856,943.
On the launch of trading on the NewConnect market, the WSE started to publish the NCIndex covering all companies in the market. On the first trading day, the NCIndex was 100 points, rising to 104.18 points on 31 August.
Several companies were approved in August to operate on the NewConnect market as Market Members or Authorised Advisors.
NewConnect Market Members are those Warsaw Stock Exchange Members for whom the WSE Management Board set the date of commencement and the scope of operation in the NewConnect market.
By the end of August, 19 companies were authorised to operate as Market Members.
In order to support the liquidity of trading in the NewConnect market most effectively, market marker agreements were signed with Dom Maklerski Amerbrokers and Dom Maklerski PKO BP.
Authorised Advisors prepare issuers for an IPO in the NewConnect market, assisting them in drafting the relevant admission document and supporting them in the first period of trading in the market.
By the end of August, 45 companies were approved as Authorised Advisors.
Current information about NewConnect trading was available at the end of August from 24 authorised information vendors (information agencies, brokerage houses, internet portals). 5 vendors gave investors access to reports filed with the WSE by investors.
For more information see the NewConnect website.