Comment by Ludwik Sobolewski, WSE President, to the recent IPO Watch PwC study results:
“In my opinion, the report describes very well the situation on the Polish and European IPO markets. I am pleased, furthermore, that the role and significance of NewConnect has been highlighted in a objective manner. The number of listed companies is dynamically growing on NewConnect, however it has also been affected by decreasing investor activity. My previous estimates of 70 new listings on the WSE Main List in 2008 seem exceptionally difficult to attain, given some factors in the first half of the current year which were impossible to predict – like excessive speculation on the oil market. Taking into consideration a slight decrease in the number of lPOs at the WSE and the difficulties in carrying many transactions, the relative position of the Warsaw bourse remains impressive. It is quite something to be ranked second after London and to be a venue to one quarter of all new listings taking place in Europe. Of course, their value tells a different story, but one shouldn’t expect large transactions on a young market like ours. It is also worth noting that, in the second quarter of 2008, we had the second largest public offering of a Polish private company. What I am specifically not satisfied with is the number of new listings by foreign companies in the first half of this year. Three listings only are to a certain extent the effect of the general situation, but it is painful as the international position of Warsaw relies on its ability to attract foreign companies. The situation is not bad however, as, in the first half of 2008, the domestic companies capitalisation gap between Wiener Boerse and WSE was almost eliminated for the first time in the Warsaw bourse’s history. I believe therefore that, in terms of building a regional centre, we have advanced in the first half of this year, not retreated. Right now, we are thinking solely about the second half of the year and we are acting accordingly.
The Warsaw Stock Exchange is a leader among European exchanges by IPO number and value, according to the IPO Watch Europe report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers. 55 companies joined the WSE in Q2 2008; their IPOs totalled EUR 1.9 billion. The WSE ranks second in Europe both by IPO number and value.
The Warsaw Stock Exchange outperformed large exchange markets like NYSE-Euronext (15 IPOs in Q2), OMX (10 IPOs) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (8 IPOs). There were no IPOs in Q2 in Madrid, Vienna, Dublin and Athens.
Table 1. IPOs on European Exchanges, Q2 2008
No. |
Exchange |
# IPOs in Q2 |
IPOs Value (EUR M) |
1 |
London |
46 |
6 298 |
2 |
Warsaw |
37 |
1 890 |
3 |
NYSE-Euronext |
15 |
1 615 |
4 |
OMX |
10 |
178 |
5 |
Deutsche Boerse |
8 |
330 |
6 |
Oslo |
6 |
28 |
7 |
Luxembourg |
6 |
49 |
8 |
Switzerland |
3 |
412 |
9 |
Borsa Italiana |
2 |
14 |
10 |
Madrid (BME) |
- |
- |
11 |
Wiener Boerse |
- |
- |
12 |
Ireland (ISE) |
- |
- |
13 |
Athens |
- |
- |
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In Q1-2 2008, the WSE ranked second in Europe by the number of IPOs: it accounted for 25% and 28% of all European IPOs in Q1 and Q2 respectively. Only the London Stock Exchange had more IPOs than the WSE in this period.