(Vienna/Ljubljana) Around EUR 225m have been invested in the Ljubljana Stock Exchange due to the inclusion of Slovenian stocks into the CEE indices of the Vienna Stock Exchange (VSE). Specifically, the investments were made into structured products such as the 220 certificates and warrants as well as three ETFs (exchange-traded funds) that have been issued by banks up to now on the nine CEE indices of the VSE that contain Slovenian stocks. The issuers include internationally renowned investment firms such as ABN Amro, Société Générale, HVB, Nordea, Swedbank and Dankse Bank as well as the Austrian Erste Bank and RCB. The Ljubljana Stock Exchange profits mainly from the hedging of the structured products with VSE indices as underlyings.
Slovenian stocks have the highest weighting with 37.74 % of index capitalization in the South-East Europe Traded Index (SETX) and 23.7% in the CECE Health Care Index (as of end of April 2008). Furthermore, Slovenian companies are also included in the following indices that are calculated and disseminated by VSE: NTX, CECE Infrastructure, CECE Banking, CECE Oil, CECE Telecom, CECE MID and CECE Extended.
The Vienna Stock Exchange has long years of experience in the CEE region. Especially in the area of indices, the VSE it has become established as a highly sought-after expert. A number of 23 of the 33 indices calculated and disseminated by VSE have a clear focus on country-specific, regional or sectoral developments in Central and Eastern Europe. Today, over 80% of all structured products worldwide relating to Eastern Europe are based on the indices of the Vienna Stock Exchange.