OMX AB COMPANY TO PRESENT BUSINESS PROPOSALS ON ASE DEVELOPMENT WITHIN MONTH

Noyan Tapan
Feb 05 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, NOYAN TAPAN. It is expected that within a month
OMX AB, a Swedish-Finnish company providing financial services,
will present its business proposals on development of the Armenian
Stock Exchange (ASE) and results of its studies on development of
the securities market in the country.

Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Tigran Sargsian said
this at the February 5 press conference. In his words, "this is the
first case when research in Armenia is being done by a foreign private
company and not an international financial organization."

He said that as a result of legislative amendments, Armenia will give
up the ideas of a self-regulating stock exchange and depositary and
will shift to these bodies’ work on business bases. The stock exchanges
in Sweden, Finland, Copenhagen, Vilnius, Tallin and Riga (all of them
as part of OMX) operate this way. OMX is also implementing a project
on development of stock markets in Mecedonia. It intends to implement
similar projects in Ukraine and Bulgaria.

According to T. Sargsian, OMX’s entry into Armenia depends on how much
enterprising the Armenian side will be, how much responsibility it
will take because for "first-rate investors consider human resource
as the most expensive and limited resource."

The CBA Chairman said that 35 companies, which are ready to ratify
transparency of their accounting by the conclusion of an audit company,
have already been studied. They have been registered at the ASE in
accordance with OMX procedure. In 2007, placement of such companies’s
securities at the ASE will continue, which will create preconditions
for great changes in the investment environment.

T. Sargsian informed those present that legislative amendments are
also envisaged in order to improve corporate governance in terms
of separating the rights and obligations of owners and managers. He
said that two big commercial networks in Armenia expressed a desire
to attract resources through placement of securities. Their studies
show that these networks have the opportunity to increase heir market
value 20 fold.