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- President of Poland Andrzej Duda has inaugurated celebrations at the Warsaw Stock Exchange on the 25thanniversary of the signing of GPW’s founding deed
- The new bell was officially unveiled on the GPW Trading Floor during the event
- The bronze bell symbolises the quarter century when GPW has become the biggest exchange in Central and Eastern Europe which organises trade in one of the region’s most dynamically growing capital markets
The economic history of free Poland knows many landmarks but 12 April 1991 was very special. Within less than a month after the Parliament passed the law on public trading in securities and on trust funds, the Minister of Privatisation and the Minister of Finance acting on behalf of the State Treasury signed the founding deed of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW). Thus, Poland confirmed its dedication to the economic transition on the way to a free-market economy.
“The Warsaw Stock Exchange is the fourth biggest exchange in Europe and the unparalleled leader in this part of Europe. This is great, let’s keep it up. We should be the economic leader in this part of Europe, its leading country. It is a serious task ahead. Let’s keep looking to the Exchange and how it grows, supporting it to the extent possible with good regulation.
Congratulations are in place due to the Code of Best Practice approved by the Exchange, which focuses on corporate governance, good management, transparency of listed companies, reliable information for shareholders. In brief, it is a measure of integrity on the capital market, and ensures its clear rules. The Exchange is extremely important,” said President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda.
“The future of the Warsaw Stock Exchange lies in building up this company of public trust. Its future lies in a continuation of its development and furthering of confidence in Poland’s capital market. It is time for GPW to become a model company underpinning the Polish economy. A company which inspires trust, follows transparent rules, and supports Polish companies,”said President of the Management Board of GPW Małgorzata Zaleska.
On the 25th anniversary of the signing of the GPW founding deed, a new bell rang on the GPW Trading Floor, symbolically unveiled by President of Poland Andrzej Duda.
“The mounting of the bell symbolises where GPW is now. Its form represents the price curve. Evidently, despite a minor decline, it rises up,” said Małgorzata Zaleska, President of the Management Board of GPW.
The bronze bell has been donated by Poland’s oldest bell foundry. It has been cast by Pracownia Ludwisarska Janusza i Macieja Felczyńskich specially for the 25th anniversary of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. It is an artistic crafts classic and a prime example of the bell-founding tradition.
“Everything we did to produce the cast was hand-made. We used absolutely no mechanical devices. The mould was developed in several stages, exactly as it used to be centuries ago. We faithfully follow the tradition,” said co-owner of the bell foundry Maciej Felczyński.
The ornaments were made in the lost-wax casting process known from the antiquity. The bell was designed by the bell foundry’s associate artist, a graduate of the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts. It takes around 10 seconds to cast a bell. Alloy heated up to more than 10 thousand degrees Celsius is poured into the mould and then left for 24 hours to cool. Taken out from the mould, the bell is polished, chiselled by hand, and partly painted.
“The mould is largely made of loess clay, the same as in bricks. However, the key ingredient is the chemical composition of the alloy, made of casting bronze, which is approximately 78 percent copper and 22 percent tin. We make sure that the alloy follows these proportions,” said Maciej Felczyński.
