News
June 2009 on the WSE
The highlight of June was the IPO of Bogdanka, the first Polish coal mining company to be listed on the WSE and the first state-owned company to go public on the WSE since November 2008. Other major events included the initiated efforts to create a new stock exchange index of socially responsible companies and the visit of the renown investor Mark Mobius to the WSE.
New Listings
The company Lubelski Węgiel “BOGDANKA” was listed on the WSE on 25 June. It is the sixth company to enter the WSE Main List in 2009. The company’s core business is the mining of hard coal, enrichment of extracted coal, sale of coal, and recultivation of mining land. The IPO of Bogdanka was worth PLN 528 million, historically the fourth largest issue of new shares of a state-owned company on the Polish stock market.
Exchange Members
On 25 June, Merrill Lynch International with its seat in London, an international investment company, started operations on the WSE as a foreign remote member.
Merrill Lynch International is a member of the main European stock markets including the London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Börse, NYSE Euronext, Nasdaq OMX, Borsa Italiana, SIX Swiss Exchange.
Merrill Lynch International, a part of The Bank of America, is one of the world’s largest financial institutions with a long-time tradition and international reputation. The Bank of America Corporation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Currently the WSE has 47 members, including 29 domestic and 18 (including Merrill Lynch) foreign remote members from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, Slovakia and Estonia.
Other Events
On 12 June, the WSE Management Board adopted a resolution (Resolution No. 260/2009) concerning temporary restriction of the scope of broker’s orders accepted for execution on the WSE Main List and the NewConnect market. Pursuant to the resolution, must-be-filled broker’s orders (MFO) and at-the-opening market broker’s orders (OMO) for shares and allotment certificates will not be accepted for execution in the single-price auction system on the WSE Main List between 1 July 2009 and 31 December 2009.
On 18 June, the BZ WBK Infrastruktura+ structured bond was introduced to trading on the WSE.
It is the fourth instrument issued by SecurAsset SA and listed on the WSE. The bond’s underlying is an index basket including the following indices (each index represents 1/3 of the portfolio value):
- the BNP Paribas Global Infrastructure ER Index;
- the BNP Paribas COMAC Isovel 8 LS ER Index;
- the PLN Cash Index.
The WSE lists 63 structured products, including 14 bonds and 49 certificates (35 structured certificates, 1 bonus structured certificate, 1 guaranteed structured certificate, 2 short structured certificates, 10 express structured certificates).
On 25 June, the Warsaw Stock Exchange in co-operation with Forbes magazine initiated a project promoting top standards of responsible governance in public companies.
The results of a study, covering companies of the WSE Main List excluding foreign companies, will be used to build RESPECT Ranking, a ranking of responsible companies, as a basis for RESPECT Rating. The joint project will create Poland’s first stock exchange index of socially responsible companies: RESPECT Index.
The Index will track the performance of the stock of companies meeting the highest corporate standards.
On 25 June, the WSE Management Board adopted a resolution introducing new stock exchange fees for the trade in FX futures for all exchange members in the period from 1 July 2009 to 31 December 2009. The fees are set at the level applicable to single-stock futures contracts, i.e., PLN 0.34 per contract for exchange members and PLN 0.08 per contract for exchange members performing the functions of market makers. In addition, the reduction to zero of the stock exchange fees for the issuers of warrants and structured certificates was extended.
The WSE performed the periodic verification and classification of shares of exchange issuers to relevant segments of the regulated market after the last trading session in June.
The segment 250 PLUS now includes shares of 49 issuers (previously 40).
The segment 50 PLUS now includes shares of 78 issuers (previously 75).
The segment 5 PLUS now includes shares of 214 issuers (previously 200)
The segment MINUS 5 now includes shares of 35 issuers (previously 58).
The ALERT LIST now includes shares of 6 issuers (previously 6).
On 17 June, the WSE Management Board in its resolution set the closure dates in 2010 when no trading sessions will be held on the WSE Main Market and on NewConnect. The closure dates are as follows:
1. Friday, 1 January;
2. Friday, 2 April;
3. Monday, 5 April;
4. Monday, 3 May;
5. Thursday, 3 June;
6. Monday, 1 November;
7. Thursday, 11 November;
8. Friday, 24 December.
Dr Mark Mobius, regarded by many in the financial industry as one of the most successful emerging markets investors over the last 20 years, was a guest of the Warsaw Stock Exchange on 29 June.
During the meeting attended by analysts, brokerage house and fund managers as well as journalists, Mark Mobius gave a presentation entitled “Role of Emerging Markets at the Time of a Global Downturn.”
In his presentation, Mark Mobius gave a comparative analysis and described the growth potential of emerging markets compared to well-developed countries. He also discussed the situation on the commodity market, the stock exchange indicators of emerging markets compared to the US market, and the potential of domestic markets of different countries.
Key Statistics
For more statistics see Monthly Statistics
On 12 June, the WSE Management Board adopted a resolution (Resolution No. 260/2009) concerning temporary restriction of the scope of broker’s orders accepted for execution on the WSE Main List and the NewConnect market. Pursuant to the resolution, the following types of broker’s orders will not be accepted for execution on the NewConnect market between 1 July 2009 and 31 December 2009 (inclusive):
1) must-be-filled orders (MFO);
2) market orders (MO);
3) at-the-opening market orders (OMO).
Another meeting in the series of “IPO.pl Investment Salons” was held on the NewConnect Floor on 18 June. The meetings are exclusive presentations of investment projects of companies aspiring to go public. The following companies were introduced to investors in June:
Dent-a-Medical SA
Mabion Sp. z o.o.
Dragon Trade Sp. z o.o.
Ibiza Ice Cafe SA
Loco Zone Sp. z o.o.
The Investment Salons are held in Poland’s main cities. The goal of the meetings is to present selected companies and projects ready to partner with investors in order to finance further growth. Investment Salons are addressed to individual investors, business angels and companies looking for attractive investments to diversify their portfolios.
Key Statistics
For more information see the NewConnect website