JUNE 2013 - FEAS
JUNE 2013 - FEAS
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 />
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