Deutsche Börse Rejects Porsche's Criticism Of Quarterly Reports - Index Decisions Are Based On Transparent Rules - Quarterly Reports International Standard For Investor Information

Deutsche Börse has rejected the criticism voiced by Porsche CEO Wiedeking as inaccurate and unjustified. According to agency reports, Wiedeking had criticized the quarterly reporting obligations on Friday and accused Deutsche Börse of basing the rules for inclusion in its indexes on a profit-making interest.

Christoph Lammersdorf, member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse, emphasized the importance of quarterly reports for investors. Quarterly reports are an essential element of the information that investors need, he said, which is why they have become an international standard for company reporting. "It is Deutsche Börse's job as an organizer of markets to ensure that international investors find the same well-known disclosure and reporting standards for their investments in the German market."

In this connection, Deutsche Börse flatly rejected criticism by the CEO of Porsche AG of intertwining interests between Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (the Frankfurt stock exchange) as the public-law operator and Deutsche Börse AG, the private-sector exchange organization. Index decisions are based on a transparent body of rules set by Deutsche Börse as a neutral index provider, which establishes a maximum degree of transparency in the decisions regarding the selection of companies.

Lammersdorf cannot understand the persisting criticism from Porsche: "The rules for the equity indices are known to all of the companies. Declining to submit quarterly reports is a management decision. The company's management will have to take responsibility for for the long-term implications of this decision for its shareholders." Porsche's vociferous criticism of the rules for inclusion in the index and of Deutsche Börse strongly suggests that Porsche actually assigns more importance to the MDAX equity index than it is willing to admit in public.