July brought several events of crucial importance to the future of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. They include the WSE’s acquisition of shares in the Ukrainian exchange INNEX and the modified strategy of the WSE privatisation presented by the Minister of the State Treasury – the WSE is scheduled to be listed in November 2008.
Exchange Members
Copernicus Securities with its seat in Warsaw was admitted to operation on the WSE as an exchange member. Copernicus Securities is a private brokerage house. The offer of Copernicus Securities is developed on the basis of on two departments: Corporate Finance and Capital Markets. As part of Corporate Finance, Copernicus offers advisory on raising capital, legal counselling and consultancy in the field of mergers and acquisitions. Capital Markets provides services in the field of accepting and transferring orders as well as valuation of companies.
There are currently 47 exchange members, including 28 Polish members and 19 remote members.
On 17 July, the Portuguese bank Banco Espirito Santo de Investimento with its seat in Lisbon started operations on the WSE including trading in all securities on own account and on client’s account.
Banco Espirito Santo de Investimento, S.A. (BESI) is the investment arm of the Banco Espirito Santo group which has a tradition of more than 100 years and an international business scope. Banco Espirito Santo is Portugal’s third largest bank listed on the Euronext exchange in Lisbon.
BESI is one of the largest investment banks in the Iberian Peninsula. It has extensive experience in trading in financial instruments, investment advisory, corporate and project finance, and securitisation. BESI offers integrated investment banking services in Portugal, Spain, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and now also Poland.
There were 47 exchange members at the end of July, including 19 remote members from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, Slovakia, and Estonia.
Other Events
On 1 July, the Warsaw Stock Exchange signed exchange information vendor agreements with the German information agency VWD and two Polish companies: the financial portal MONEY.PL and the company OPERA Dom Maklerski. With the new agreements, the number of exchange information vendors grew to 46, including 27 Polish and 19 foreign companies. Real-time WSE information is available to over 180 thousand subscribers in Poland and on all continents. The steady growth in the number of vendors and subscribers proves the international importance of the markets operated by the WSE.
New structured products were introduced to the WSE in July:- On 9 July, 11 structured certificates issued by Raiffeisen Centrobank were introduced to the WSE:
- 9 open-end regular structured certificates (undetermined maturity);
- 1 short structured certificate (the underlying instrument is Brent Crude Oil Inverse Performance, undetermined maturity);
- 1 bonus structured certificate with determined maturity (13.12.2010, Brent Crude Oil certificate).
- On 23 July, Energy Bonds issued by BARCLAYS BANK PLC were introduced to the WSE.
- On 28 July, “BZ WBK Nowa Era 2” index certificates issued by BNP Paribas Arbitrage Issuance B.V. were introduced to the WSE. The certificates are tied to credit exposure to Bank Zachodni WBK S.A. and have the nominal amount of PLN 100 million. The certificates have the same underlying product as BZ WBK Nowa Era certificates (BZNERA1111) earlier introduced to the WSE. The differences between the products include: the nominal amount, the issue date and maturity, and the minimum investment.
40 structured products were listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange at the end of July, including 7 structured notes and 33 structured certificates.
On 10 July, “Poland’s Intellectual Capital Report” prepared by the Team of Strategic Advisors to the Prime Minister was presented for the first time to the public in the head office of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The presentation of the report was attended by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Micha? Boni, and WSE President Ludwik Sobolewski. The Warsaw Stock Exchange is a partner in the publication of the report.
The conference featured a presentation of conclusions of the report which was prepared after several months of work of invited experts in all areas crucial to the growth of Poland’s intellectual capital. “Poland’s Intellectual Capital Report” is available on the WSE Innovative Economy website at www.innowacyjnosc.gpw.pl .
On 11 July, under the umbrella of the International Companies Information Forum, a meeting with representatives of bmp AG was held in the head office of the WSE. During the meeting the company presented issues discussed at the General Shareholders’ Meeting held on 9 July in Berlin and its plans for H2 2008.
On 16 July 2008, a press briefing was held on the WSE with the participation of Deputy Minister of the State Treasury Micha? Chyczewski and WSE President Ludwik Sobolewski. The main topic of the meeting was the WSE’s acquisition of shares of the Ukrainian stock exchange INNEX. The acquisition of 25% of shares from existing shareholders was closed on 10 July 2008 (transaction settlement date). After the opening of the WSE representation office in Kiev on 25 June, this is another step in developing the relations between the WSE and the Ukrainian market. The event fits into the WSE’s overall strategy of building strong relations with the markets of the region, of which the Ukrainian market is a key market.
WSE President Ludwik Sobolewski described the purpose of the transaction: “We want to modernise and develop the local infrastructure and contribute to the introduction of regulations facilitating capital flows between Ukraine and Poland. We also want to introduce the Polish market and the Polish stock exchange to Ukrainian companies and to promote Warsaw among Ukrainian companies wishing to raise equity. The acquisition of INNEX shares is not a purely financial investment for us. To the Warsaw Stock Exchange, this founds a capital agreement whereby we shall assist Ukraine in building a modern stock exchange. Our presence on the INNEX exchange will be based on close partnership with INNEX shareholders and management aimed at developing the local market.
During the conference held in Kiev on 25 July, INNEX President Olena Sklar said that the WSE’s investment as a shareholder and partner gives INNEX the opportunity to grow and to strengthen its position on the Ukrainian capital market. INNEX Supervisory Board Chairman Mikhail Nazarchuk said that the WSE’s acquisition of INNEX shares was a logical step towards integration with the global capital market.
The core business of the INNEX exchange is to organise secondary trading in stocks, bonds and options and to organise bids for shares of privatised Ukrainian companies. INNEX is a joint stock company. INNEX is the successor to the Donetsk stock exchange set up in 1995. In 2005, INNEX received a licence to operate a stock exchange from the State Securities and Markets Commission (Ukrainian counterpart of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority). In 2006, the exchange was moved from Donetsk to Kiev. The objective was to make the exchange a national operation. Currently INNEX has 106 shareholders, including 104 legal persons (97% of shares) and 2 natural persons (3% of shares). The legal persons include 76 transaction brokers, including 11 large commercial banks.
On 24 July, the Warsaw Stock Exchange informed that Mr Marcin Gomo?a was elected Chairman of the Education and Information Governance Council. The term is 12 months. The mission of the Education and Information Governance Council is closely linked to the WSE strategy of determined growth from a local exchange market to a mature market aspiring to become the leading capital market of the region and the centre of capital trading in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Model Investor Relations Service competition jury selected the best submissions on 31 July 2008. The purpose of the competition was to develop optimum, model content and functionality of the Investor Relations tab on the corporate website of listed companies. Nine companies participated in the competition. The jury gave three ex aequo first awards which went to:- GENESIS
- MARTIS
- NBS
- Support
- Genesis
- Publicis Consultants / Rowland
- Lighthouse Consultants
- Partner of Promotion
- M+G
- WEB2
The competition is a part of the WSE’s activities under the Liquidity Support Programme. The best solutions proposed in the submissions will be implemented as the standard of relations between listed companies and investors under the Liquidity Support Programme.
On 31 July, the WSE hosted a press conference on the modified concept of WSE privatisation. The scenario presented at the conference by Minister of the State Treasury Aleksander Grad provides for more extensive privatisation of the WSE and better match of the privatisation process to the WSE regional growth strategy. Between 60.57 and 65.67 percent of WSE shares will be sold.
The public offering tranche will be raised to 25-35 percent of shares. The shares offered in the tranche will be dividend shares: they will not give votes at the General Meeting but will be privileged in terms of the amount of dividend.
The private placement tranche will be raised to 30.67-35.57 percent of WSE shares. The private placement concept is still valid, but the list of its target companies will be extended to include among others international investment banks.
According to the WSE privatisation timetable, the WSE will be introduced to trading in late November 2008.
Key Statistics
Percentage Index
Change in July |
Year to Date |
|
WIG20 |
6.2% |
-20.4% |
MWIG40 |
-5.6% |
-37.9% |
SWIG80 |
-9.1% |
-35.2% |
WIG |
3.1% |
-23.8% |
WIG-PL |
3.6% |
-23.6% |
Prices of 142 Main List stocks have risen in July.
Highest Growth in
Stock Prices in July |
|||
Company |
Price on 30.06.08 |
Price on 31.07.08 |
% change |
MIDAS |
3.49 |
7.40 |
112.0 |
06MAGNA |
2.09 |
3.64 |
74.2 |
KREZUS |
1.15 |
1.80 |
56.5 |
Trading on the cash market was PLN 28,379 million, up by 30% month on month. Trading on the futures market was PLN 47,303 million, down by 8% month on month.
Trading in
Instruments (PLN M) |
|
Shares and rights
to shares** |
28 085 |
Bonds** |
263 |
MiniWIG20 |
0.9 |
Futures Contracts |
|
Value* |
47 249 |
Volume (#) |
942 743 |
Options |
|
Value* |
53.0 |
Volume (#) |
38 568 |
|
|
* based on the
value of contracts/options |
|
** excluding
block trades |
Primary Market (regulated market +
NewConnect) |
||
|
July 2008 |
June 2008 |
Value of new
issues (IPOs and SPOs) |
3 132 750 |
1 025 424 416.00 |
Value of shares
sold in IPOs |
0.00 |
0.00 |
Value of new
issues in IPOs |
0.00 |
346 370 921.00 |
Value of new
issues in SPOs |
3 132 750 |
679 053 495.00 |
Please note, most issues on NewConnect are done through private placements.
For more statistics see Monthly Statistics
IPOs
The company Mineral Midrange made a debut on 1 July. The company’s core business is to implement solutions including business intelligence, data warehouse, reporting and multi-dimensional analysis systems, and planning and budgeting support systems. The company’s business is mainly based on the implementation of IT solutions provided by the Canadian company Cognos.
The company MARKETEO.COM made a debut on 3 July. It is the 60th listing on the market and the 36th IPO in 2008. The core business of MARKETEO.COM S.A. is to sell advertising space on sector internet portals based on the platform www.marketeo.com.
The company EM Lab made a debut on 24 July. EM Lab is an agency which develops strategies and implements projects in the area of experiential marketing. Communication activities developed by EM Lab create interactions between brands and consumers by generating strong associated experience.
Other Events
On 7 July, the WSE Management Board published the dates and criteria of assessment of the operation of NewConnect market Authorised Advisers. The assessment will be carried out from 20 August to 15 December 2008 and will cover those Authorised Adviser for which a resolution of the WSE Management Board concerning their entry into the Register of Authorised Advisers is passed by 15 July 2008.
The main criteria of assessment will include:- Quality of the portfolio of issuers assisted by NA;
- Quality of the issues in the portfolio;
- Quality of NA compliance;
- Other (including promotion of information on the NewConnect market).
The NewConnect Convention 2008 was held at the Manufaktura centre in ?ód? on 25 July. It was the biggest convention of investors, businessmen and all parties interested in the NewConnect market. The NewConnect Convention is an education and promotion event which introduces participants to investment in NewConnect listed companies. On the other hand, the event was addressed to the business community: businessmen were offered training and expert advice on raising equity for project development. The meeting was attended by around 1,000 participants: individual investors, companies listed or planning listing on NewConnect, Authorised Advisers, other financial institutions working with the NewConnect market, as well as summer guests of the Manufaktura centre and inhabitants of ?ód?.
The convention included an exhibit of 30 stands of NewConnect listed companies, introducing participants directly to actual and prospective NewConnect issuers, Authorised Advisers, the WSE and the Individual Investors’ Association. The informal atmosphere facilitated discussions, presentations and one-on-one meetings of NC Convention 2008 participants.
The conference featured presentations of NC issuers and potential issuers as well as education lectures introducing the NC Convention participants to the specificity of the NC market, NC reporting rights and obligations, how to prepare and analyse an information document of an NC issuer, which sectors and businesses are represented on the market.
On 31 July, the WSE published a new sector classification of the NewConnect market. The relevant Resolution of the WSE Management Board contains a list of 11 sectors to which NewConnect listed companies will be assigned. The Resolution comes into force on 1 September 2008.
The NewConnect market sectors:
1 | Wholesale and retail trade |
2 | Restaurants, hotels, tourism |
3 | Traditional and electronic media |
4 | Financial advisory |
5 | Brokerage, investment funds, financial investments |
6 |
Real estate services and sale |
7 | Pharmaceutical production, medical clinics |
8 |
Construction
and construction materials |
9 | Other corporate services Other corporate services |
10 | IT, electronics, electric machinery |
11 | Telecommunication |
Key Statistics
Percentage Index
Change in July |
Year to date |
|
NCINDEX |
-4.9% |
-57.9% |
Prices of 21 NewConnect stocks have risen in July.
Highest Growth in
Stock Prices in July |
|||
Company |
Price at 30.06.08 |
Price at 31.07.08 |
% change |
VENO |
0.10 |
0.17 |
70.0 |
BLUPREIPO-PDA |
3.00 |
4.68 |
56.0 |
SAKANA |
5.95 |
8.60 |
44.5 |
Trading in shares and allotment certificates on NewConnect was PLN 54 million, up by 2% month on month.
Trading in
Instruments (PLN M)* |
|
Shares |
52.1 |
Rights to shares |
1.9 |
* excluding block
trades |
|
For more information see the NewConnect website.