National Stock Exchange Of Lithuania: Monthly Bulletin August

August was marked with quite a few events and pieces of news. On 1 August, compensation for citizens for the existing real property in the state owned shares began. The public tender commission, formed with regard to privatisation of companies producing alcoholic beverages, announced results of the tender. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania adopted decision to include the NSEL into the list of companies slated for privatisation. The Management Board of the NSEL decided to admit shares of AB Vilniaus Baldu Kombinatas into the Official Trading List as of 1 September 2003. Naujieji Verkiai, Grigiškes, Roze, holding company Invalda informed about the reorganisation. The increase of the authorised capital was reported by AB Kauno Tiekimas and AB iauli Bankas. Companies of the dairy sector as well as other companies announced good results of their activities this year.

Share turnover in August shows that investors find the Lithuanian securities market attractive, and interest in it is retained. The growth of securities prices was supported by buyers as the market optimistically responded to the published news. During the month share demand grew up by nearly one third, and prices of just five listed companies decreased. As a result, capitalisation of listed shares improved by 6% and climbed over the margin of LTL 9 billion. The growth of equity indices, which started in March, accelerated even more in August, and indices reached the highest values of 52 weeks. During the month under review, index LITIN improved by 15%, and LITIN-G and LITIN-10 increased by 8% each.

The total turnover of this month was not the biggest this year and reached LTL 159 million. Nevertheless, share turnover, as compared with June, augmented by 60% amounting to LTL 84.6 million and was the largest among monthly turnovers of this year. Moreover, it also exceeded share turnover of the first quarter. This year, August was one of those rare months when share turnover beat trading volumes in debt securities. Turnover in block transactions, dominated by securities of Lietuvos Draudimas and bank NORD/LB, accounted for less than half of the total share turnover. No privatisation, public sale, and tender offer transactions were concluded. Since the beginning of the year, share turnover on the central market was increasing, and in August it reached the second best result in the ten-year history of the Stock Exchange - LTL 50 million. On the central market, the most active trading was carried out in shares of Sanitas, Lietuvos Telekomas, SnaigÎ, KlaipÎdos Nafta and Rokiðkio Suris. The total NSEL turnover of eight months (LTL 1.3 billion) was by 20% higher than that during the same accountable period last year, share turnover (LTL 387 million) - by 60% higher, and that in debt securities - by 9% higher.

On 14 September 2003, the NSEL is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its activities. On this occasion, on 12 September a conference called Integration of the Lithuanian Capital Market into the Common Market of the European Union will be held.