Suspension of Trading in ASI Shares Listed on the Main Market and NewConnect

Warsaw, 26 September 2023

GPW Announcement on Suspension of Trading in ASI Shares Listed
on the Main Market and NewConnect 

The Management Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, having regard to the interests of the current and potential participants of stock exchange trading and acting within its powers under the relevant provisions of the Exchange Rules and the Alternative Trading System Rules, has decided not to delist the shares of alternative investment companies (ASI) currently listed on the GPW Main Market and NewConnect but to suspend trading in such shares until the legal risks identified below cease to exist. The decision was taken after a detailed analysis of the amendments to the provisions of the Investment Funds Act, which enter into force on 29 September 2023, and an assessment of the potential risks arising from those amendments to the safety of stock exchange trading and the interests of exchange participants, as well as after consultation with external advisers.

The Exchange Management Board’s decision stems from the fact that the new regulations on ASIs, which provide (in certain cases) for the invalidity of transactions in ASI shares, impose a partial restriction on the transferability of such shares. At the same time, the literal wording of these provisions does not provide for the exclusion from the new regime of shares of ASIs holding the status of public companies, or at least shares of such companies which were admitted and introduced to trading on the regulated market or in the alternative trading system.

In our opinion, this legal situation generates a risk, which is currently difficult to estimate, that some transactions in ASI shares concluded on the GPW markets will be deemed invalid starting from 29 September 2023. This could have further negative consequences for the interests of stock exchange investors participating in trading in this type of shares after that date and pose a threat to the safety of stock exchange trading.   

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The Warsaw Stock Exchange Group (GPW Group) operates trading platforms for shares, Treasury and corporate bonds, derivatives, electricity and gas, and provides indices and benchmarks including WIBOR and WIBID. The index agent FTSE Russell classifies the Polish capital market as a Developed Market since 2018. The markets operated by the GPW Group are the biggest in Central and Eastern Europe. For more information, visit www.gpw.pl