From 1 July 2011 Poland will take up the rotating presidency of the European Union. This presidency is an important step in the integration of Poland within the EU, which it joined on 1 May 2004. It is also a political asset and a sign of the economic health of a country that has weathered the crisis with a growth rate estimated at 3.80%.
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange welcomes the Polish presidency particularly because of the important presence of the Polish state in bond listings on the Exchange’s official list. Polish sovereign debt currently totals 22 quotation lines for a total issue amount of around EUR 33 billion. In terms of issue amounts of European sovereign bonds listed in Luxembourg, Poland is situated in the middle of the table of the 27 EU member states; in thirteenth position ahead of Sweden and Portugal.
In addition, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange ranks first among major European stock exchanges that list Polish zloty-denominated bond issues. At present, out of a total of 80 quotation lines in zloty, the bond segment accounts for 67 lines, with the remainder being more or less equally divided between the investment fund segment and the warrant segment. It should be noted that the Luxembourg stock Exchange lists securities in fifty different currencies on its two markets. In this respect, the leading currency is the euro, followed by the U.S. dollar.
The listing of Polish sovereign bonds is part of a proactive policy geared towards sovereign issuers that the Luxembourg Stock Exchange has been pursuing for several years. At present, 54 states have their loans listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. This represents a total of 473 quotation lines of which some 204 are from EU member states.
The main activity of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, the listing of international securities has increased significantly, especially during the last year, in spite of the crisis. In this area, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange is maintaining its leading position in Europe.
Polish sovereign bonds listed in Luxembourg