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JUNE 2013 - FEAS

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FEDERATION OF EURO-ASIAN STOCK EXCHANGES ANNUAL REPORT <strong>JUNE</strong> <strong>2013</strong><br />

GEORGIAN STOCK EXCHANGE<br />

2012 turned out to be the year of significant<br />

political changes in Georgia.<br />

George Loladze<br />

Chairman of the Supervisory Board<br />

2012 turned out to be the year of significant<br />

political changes in Georgia. In the program<br />

of the Georgian Dream - the parliamentary<br />

elections winner coalition and respectively<br />

in the new Government’s plans important<br />

place is devoted to further improvement of the<br />

investment environment and implementation of<br />

the pension reform in the country. This provides<br />

grounds for optimism and new momentum for<br />

development of the Georgian securities market.<br />

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT<br />

Equity securities first appeared in Georgia in<br />

1991 after the declaration of independence<br />

that signaled the beginning of market-oriented<br />

reforms. A vast majority of the newly established<br />

joint-stock companies were owned by a rather<br />

small number of private shareholders and<br />

trading in these shares was relatively inactive.<br />

With the launching of the Mass Privatization<br />

Program in 1994, approximately 1,300 stateowned<br />

enterprises were organized as jointstock<br />

companies, creating about half a million<br />

individual private shareholders. However, during<br />

a five-year period (1994-1999), the lack of an<br />

appropriate legal framework and organized<br />

market infrastructure seriously impeded the<br />

secondary trading of these shares and any<br />

over-the-counter market activity was nearly<br />

nonexistent.<br />

The Georgian Stock Exchange (GSE) was<br />

founded in 1999 by a group of Georgian<br />

securities market professionals, leading banks,<br />

investment and insurance companies. It is the<br />

only organized securities market in Georgia.<br />

Designed and established with the assistance<br />

of the United States Agency for International<br />

Development (USAID) and operating within the<br />

legal framework of corporate and securities<br />

laws drafted with the assistance of American<br />

and German experts, the GSE can assert that<br />

it is designed and operated to comply with<br />

“global best practices” and offers an attractive<br />

investment environment to foreign investors.<br />

Official trading at the GSE began in March 2000.<br />

The number of companies admitted for trading<br />

at the GSE trading system increased gradually<br />

and by the end of 2004 reached 277. Practically<br />

all of these companies are former state owned<br />

and operated companies transformed into jointstock<br />

companies and then privatized.<br />

2004, was a landmark year for the GSE, due<br />

to the unprecedented increase in basic trading<br />

figures compared with previous years, reflecting<br />

the overall revitalization of the economy in the<br />

wake of the “Rose Revolution” of 2003.<br />

In the end of November, 2006 Bank of Georgia<br />

(GSE:BOG), the company listed at the GSE<br />

since 2001, concluded successful IPO at the<br />

London Stock Exchange Main Market and<br />

through issuance of GDRs raised circa US$ 160<br />

ml. The bank is the first Georgian company ever<br />

and the second bank rom the CIS since 1999<br />

listed on the London Stock Exchange.<br />

In 2007 the remote trading system was<br />

practically implemented at the GSE.<br />

In 2008 significant amendments were made in<br />

Georgian legislation, GSE Charter and Rules<br />

ensuring GSE demutualization, stock-exchange<br />

membership for various licensed financial<br />

institutions, including remote membership for<br />

respective foreign entities. In August 2009 the<br />

decision on GSE capital increase was taken<br />

by GSE General Meeting of Shareholders<br />

with purpose of attraction of NASDAQ-OMX<br />

as a strategic partner. In May, 2010 the GSE<br />

Supervisory Board took decision on introduction<br />

of the official stock exchange indicator - GSE<br />

index (GSX). GSX is published on a daily basis<br />

at the GSE website.<br />

In November, 2010 the Georgian Central<br />

Securities Depository - the 99% subsidiary of<br />

GSE - completed fundamental amendments<br />

to it self-regulation rules inspirited by intention<br />

of one of the largest global custodians to start<br />

operations in Georgia. In the end of 2010<br />

the National Bank of Georgia adopted new<br />

regulation according to which the procedure<br />

of public offering in Georgia of the securities<br />

admitted for trading at the eligible foreign<br />

exchanges is dramatically simplified.<br />

In March 2011 an agreement was signed<br />

between GSE and Bloomberg, one of the<br />

largest data vendors, regarding GSE real time<br />

and end-of-day data dissemination.<br />

FUTURE OUTLOOK<br />

In 2012 the Georgian Stock Exchange plans to:<br />

1. Make important changes in its trading system<br />

and trading rules so as to increase the efficiency<br />

of trading and increase the liquidity of the<br />

market:<br />

• Further improve remote trading system for<br />

brokerage companies;<br />

• Establish electronic links between stock<br />

exchange, central depository, brokerage<br />

companies, banks and securities registrars;<br />

• Introduce partially guaranteed trading of<br />

securities.<br />

2. Launch a new web-site for the GSE, which<br />

along with traditional statistics will provide<br />

corporate reports database for the companies<br />

who are admitted to the trading system.<br />

3. Finalize upgrade of the Georgian Central<br />

Securities Depository clearing and settlement<br />

system, thus increasing efficiency of operations<br />

for large institutional investors and global<br />

custodians.<br />

PAGE 44

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