VICE-PRESIDENT OF OMX GROUP STATED THE NECESSITY OF A "REVOLUTION" ON THE ARMENIAN CAPITAL MARKET
Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
June 6 2007
Yerevan, June 6 /Mediamax/. Senior Vice-President of the Swedish
OMX Group Henri Bergstrom stated in Yerevan today the necessity of a
"revolution" on the Armenian market of capital.
Mediamax reports that the OMX Vice-President said this, speaking
during the "Development Prospects of Armenian Market of Capital"
round-table, organized by the Central Bank. The representatives of
Armenian business participated in the round-table.
According to Henri Bergstrom, at present, the Armenian market of
capital is in reanimation conditions, "when it is difficult to breathe
and feed, and the heart is in bad condition". However, he stressed,
"there is will and readiness of the participants of the market to
assist the process of reanimation".
OMX Group Vice-President noted that the investors are offered a
limited range of services on the Armenian market of capital.
According to him, one should start from solving the problems in
the sphere of infrastructures, especially in the payment-accounting
system. Henri Bergstrom noted that the point is the establishment of
necessary condition for free entrance of the investors in the Armenian
market of capital, rather than the implementation of the system.
"We held discussions with the representatives of well-known Armenian
companies, which expressed preliminary interest concerning the
initial placement of securities on the Armenian Stock Exchange",
OMX Vice-President noted.
According to the assessment of Bergstrom, there are efficient steps
needed to increase the interest towards the capital market of the
country. One of such levers, according to him, may become the provision
of tax benefits to companies, which express readiness to place their
shares on the Stock Exchange.
The OMX Vice-President stated that another condition for the
development of the market of capital may become the pension reforms.
He noted that there are quite a few concrete examples in the world,
evidencing that the basic driving force for the development of the
market of capital is the pension system.
"We intend to implement in the Armenian market of capital the
"quality mark" of OMX, use the best European practice here", Henri
Bergstrom stressed.
According to the forecasts of the OMX Vice-President, in 10 years
"we will be dealing with an efficiently functioning Armenian market
of capital".
The Chairman of the Armenian Central Bank Tigran Sarkisian stated the
importance of holding the round-table, noting that these were the
first public discussion after signing the memorandum between OMX,
the government and the Central Bank of Armenia, according to which
OMX purchases the Armenian Stock Exchange and the Central Depository.
On May 25, the OMX Group announced its merger with the NASDAQ
Company. The new Company will be named NASDAQ OMX Group.