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FEDERATION OF EURO-ASIAN STOCK EXCHANGES ANNUAL REPORT JUNE 2010AMMAN STOCK EXCHANGEThe Amman Stock Exchange maintainedstable performance despite the effects ofthe global financial crisis.Jalil TarifChief Executive OfficerThe Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) hasmanaged to pass the year 2009 with a stableperformance despite the effects of the globalfinancial crisis. The crisis which continued toaffect many of the financial markets andeconomies worldwide affected mainly the tradingvalue in the ASE, however the foreign investors’ownership in the ASE market capitalization keptits high level which reflects the investors’confidence in the Jordanian capital market.The Amman Stock Exchange, launched the newversion of the electronic trading system NSCV900 in March 2009, the new version entailedintroducing comprehensive changes to all thecomponents of the electronic infrastructure of theStock Exchange as well as the other capitalmarket institutions. Under the new version, newphases as well as new features were added tothe trading phases and features, which aremeant to increase the efficiency of the trading.This project is considered a major leap for theconcerned institutions and it crowns two-years ofpersistent efforts started by the Jordan SecuritiesCommission (JSC), the ASE and the SecuritiesDepository Center SDC.The ASE has launched a new version of thewebsite. The new website is enhanced with afresh, new design, architecture, navigation andbranding. The new design is dynamic and willincrease interaction with the user, which will helpto create a smooth experience.Within the framework of the ASE's objectives ofdeveloping trading techniques, Amman StockExchange has finished the preparationsnecessary to launch the Internet Trading service,which will give the opportunity for a largernumber of investors and interested people to beengaged in securities trading In this regard, theASE has entered into effect the Internet TradingDirectives which will regulate the securitiestrading on the Internet.The ASE is working on with the new project tocomplete the Jordan National Financial Center ofwhich His Majesty King Abdullah II laid thefoundation stone. This center will contain theASE, the Securities Depository Center, brokers’offices, banks’ offices, Investor’s Gallery, inaddition to a specialized institute for teachinginvestment and finance related subjects.On the level of regional and internationalcooperation, the ASE has signed MoUs with anumber of parties; mainly the Egyptian,Romanian and Greece stock exchanges, inaddition to the Financial Services VolunteersCorps (FSVC), which will present the capitalmarket institutions with services in fields ofinvestment and securities industry.As for the performance, the ASE Free FloatWeighted Price Index at the end of the year 2009stood at 2534 points compared with 2758 at theend of 2008 with a decrease of 8%. The tradingvalue during 2009 reached US$ 13.6 billion witha decrease of 52% compared to the year 2008.The number of transactions decreased by 22%reaching 3.0 million, where the number of sharestraded increased by 11% compared with 2008reaching 6.0 billion shares. The ASE marketcapitalization reached US$31.8 billion by the endof 2009 with a decrease of 11% over the end of2008 representing 150% of the GDP.HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENTThe Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) wasestablished in March 1999 as a non-profit,private institution with administrative andfinancial autonomy. It is authorized to functionas an exchange for the trading of securities.The Exchange is governed by a seven-memberboard of directors. A Chief Executive Officeroversees day-to-day responsibilities and reportsto the board. The ASE membership iscomprised of Jordan’s 70 brokerage firms.The history of securities trading in Jordan tracesits origins back to the 1930s. In 1976, theAmman Financial Market was established tocreate a regulated trading market. Morerecently, as part of Jordan’s move to upgrade itscapital market, a Securities Law was enacted in1997 separating the supervisory and legislativeroles from those of exchange operations. As aresult, the Jordan Securities Commission (JSC)was created in the year 1997, the ASE and theSecurities Depository Center (SDC) wereestablished in 1999. The JSC supervises theissuance of and trading in securities andmonitors and regulates the market. The SDCoversees clearing and settlement and maintainsownership records.To provide a transparent and efficient market,the ASE implemented internationally recognizeddirectives regarding market divisions and listingcriteria. It also adopted procedures forimproving regulatory effectiveness.The ASE is charged with:• Providing companies with means of raisingcapital by listing on the ASE,• Encouraging an active market in listedsecurities based on the effective determinationof prices and fair and transparent trading,• Providing modern and effective facilities andequipment for trading, recording the trades anddissemination of prices,• Monitoring and regulating trading, incoordination with the JSC as necessary, toensure compliance with the law, a fair marketand investor protection,• Setting out and enforcing a professional codeof ethics among its member directors and staff,• Ensuring the provision of timely and accurateinformation of issuers to the market anddisseminating market information to the public.On March 26th 2000, the ASE launched anautomated order-driven Electronic TradingSystem. The system is in compliance withinternational standards and takes into accountthe G-30 recommendations. This system alsooffers brokers immediate access to stock pricesand orders and enables members to traderemotely.On May 2006, The ASE has activated a newversion of the electronic trading system (NSCV2+), which comes as part of the efforts tomeet the increasing needs of the Jordaniancapital market and in order to raise the capacityof the current electronic trading system toaccommodate the increase in the daily tradingvolume.On March 22th 2009, The ASE launched thenew version of the electronic trading systemNSC V900, this project is considered a quantumleap for the concerned institutions as theelectronic trading system have now becomelinked with the SDC systems and the JSC newmonitoring systems. The new version will helpdevelop the trading process at the ASE andenhance the capacity of the electronic tradingsystem.FUTURE OUTLOOKThe Amman Stock Exchange will embark on anumber of key projects that will ensuremaintaining the lead that the ASE has amongstArab and regional stock exchanges. Theseprojects can be summarized as follows:• Continue the construction works of the JordanNational Financial Center.• Continue upgrading of the technicalinfrastructure.• Introduce Internet trading.• Launching new financial instruments.PAGE 46