Erste Bank JPMorgan Merrill Lynch International

THE VIENNA STOCK EXCHANGE
The information relating to the Vienna Stock Exchange set out below is derived from information
obtained from the Vienna Stock Exchange, in particular from the website of the Vienna Stock
Exchange (www.wienerborse.at), the annual report of 2006 and monthly statistics relating to December
2007, and the annual report of the FMA. The website of the Vienna Stock Exchange
(www.wienerborse.at) contains further information about the Vienna Stock Exchange as well as a
range of special services, such as quotations and ad hoc information about the companies listed on
the Vienna Stock Exchange. The information contained in this website is not part of this Prospectus.
The Vienna Stock Exchange is operated by Wiener Börse AG, based on a license under the
Austrian Stock Exchange Act (Börsegesetz). In addition to a securities exchange, Wiener Börse AG
also operates a multilateral trading facility (MTF) and a commodities exchange.
The Vienna Stock Exchange is supervised by the FMA. As the market and stock exchange
supervisory authority, the FMA is responsible, in particular, for supervision of the reporting requirements
for reportable instruments in accordance with the Austrian Securities Supervision Act 2007
(“WAG 2007”), the supervision of market participants and the clarification and investigation of
infringements against the ban on insider trading and the ban on market manipulation, the monitoring
of securities analyses concerning the issue and dissemination of recommendations in Austria, the
regularity and fairness of securities trading, the clarification and investigation of price manipulation,
stock exchange supervision in compliance with the Stock Exchange Act (BörseG) and the monitoring
of issuers and shareholders with respect to their duties of publication.
The FMA is responsible for the supervision of the lawfulness of resolutions of the executive
bodies of the stock exchange operator. For that purpose, it uses the stock exchange commissioner
(Börsekommissär). The stock exchange commissioner and his deputy are appointed by the Federal
Minister of Finance, but act on behalf of the FMA and are bound by the instructions of the FMA, as
the competent supervisory authority. The stock exchange commissioner (at present one stock
exchange commissioner and two deputies) is to be invited to all important meetings of the stock
exchange operator. He monitors Wiener Börse AG as well as the Vienna Stock Exchange, reviews the
resolutions of the executive bodies of Wiener Börse AG with respect to their lawfulness and has the
duty to veto unlawful resolutions.
Wiener Städtische AG holds approximately 3.5016% of the share capital of Wiener Börse AG.
The Markets of the Vienna Stock Exchange
The Austrian Stock Exchange Act provides for two types of admission: the Official Market
(Amtlicher Handel) and the Second Regulated Market (Geregelter Freiverkehr). Classification according
to the type of admission is used as the criterion for admission and classification in the individual
market or trading segments: Prime Market, Standard Market Continuous, Mid Market and Standard
Market Auction.
The Unregulated Third Market that existed prior to the entry into force of WAG 2007, has been
operated by the Wiener Börse AG since November 1, 2007, in the form of a multilateral trading facility
within the meaning of the WAG 2007. A multilateral trading facility is not a regulated market under the
Stock Exchange Act. It is a trading facility operated on the basis of a license from the FMA according
to the provisions of the WAG 2007. However, on the basis of a special FMA approval, the operator of
a regulated market is entitled to operate a multilateral trading facility. Participation takes place on the
basis of the operator’s own general terms and conditions of business, the “Terms and conditions for
operation of the Third Market” which the Wiener Börse AG has drawn up with the approval of the
FMA.
Both the Official Market and the Second Regulated Market of the Vienna Stock Exchange have
been recognized as regulated markets pursuant to the Directive 2004/39/EC on markets in financial
instruments (MiFID). The statutory offense of “misuse of insider information” and the administrative
offense of “market manipulation” are also applicable to multilateral trading facilities. In December
2004, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission granted the Vienna Stock Exchange the status
of a “Designated Offshore Securities Market” in accordance with the U.S. Securities Act.
Certain listing criteria set out by the Austrian Stock Exchange Act and—in the Prime Market
trading segment—certain non-statutory criteria set out by the Vienna Stock Exchange must be met by
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