The Vienna Stock Exchange: Internationalization brings liquidity and worldwide recognition

(Ljubljana/Vienna). In the past few years, the Vienna Stock Exchange has developed from a small, exclusively regionally perceived exchange into a strong, liquid and internationally recognized financial marketplace.  Based on this solid foundation, the goal of the Vienna Stock Exchange is to activate the Slovenian capital market further by working together with the Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE). This was confirmed today by Heinrich Schaller, CEO of Wiener Börse AG, at a press conference in Ljubljana.

A major contribution to the success achieved was – apart from the performance of the listed companies – the internationalization of the Vienna Stock Exchange: In the past few years, the exchange worked actively to acquire foreign trading members, and since last year, the exchange has had more foreign trading members (43) than domestic ones (39) for the first time. Since 2003, monthly cash market trading volume has risen by 828% and is currently around EUR 15bn, with 70% being generated by foreign banks. Moreover, the Vienna Stock Exchange is increasingly targeting foreign investors and has achieved great success in this area: Meanwhile, a major share of institutional investors come from the US (27.8%), Great Britain (22%) and Germany (10.1%). This has also made the Austrian capital market more attractive to Austrian companies: Since 2003, more than EUR 34bn have been raised through new listings and capital increases on the Vienna Stock Exchange. It is not only the cash market, but also trading in bonds and structured products that has been developing very well (ETFs and certificates).

The Vienna Stock Exchange impressed by the development of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange

“The LJSE has grown enormously in the past few years and I believe that the Ljubljana Stock Exchange and its listed companies still have great potential. We would like to contribute as a strategic investor by providing our know-how – gained from our own experience – and participate in the further advancement of the Slovenian capital market,” stressed Mr. Schaller. The Vienna Stock Exchange is interested in the sustainable development of the Slovenian capital market and not only in short-term profit maximization.

According to the conditions defined by the current owners, the exchange must retain its independence and seat in Ljubljana. “It is precisely these criteria – active commitment while guaranteeing independence – that form the foundation of any cooperative partnership for the Vienna Stock Exchange. We firmly believe in the regional market principle. The focus of our work is clearly in working together in the area of products,” said Mr. Schaller. The Vienna Stock Exchange has long years of experience in cooperating with CEE/SEE exchanges Up to now, the Vienna Stock Exchange has acquired a stake of 68.58% in the Budapest Stock Exchange jointly with a consortium of Austrian banks. Furthermore, the Vienna Stock Exchange has succeeded in building up close cooperation with the Bucharest Stock Exchange in the past two years – without the need for cross-holdings. Additionally, the Vienna Stock Exchange has a number of cooperation agreements with the other stock exchanges of the region of Central and Southeast Europe, and contributes its expertise to the further development of the local financial markets. The focus of collaboration is in the area of indices and the Vienna Stock Exchange currently calculates 23 country, regional and sector indices for the CEE and SEE region.

Key figures of the VSE (as of 31 March 2008):