All NOREX Exchanges to use common global classification standard

19.01.2005 VLN

Press Release of the Tallinn Stock Exchange
19.01.2005

All eight NOREX exchanges will use the same industry classification standard – the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) developed by Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc. (MSCI) and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) – as a part of the integration of the Nordic and Baltic securities markets.

Stockholm Stock Exchange, Oslo Børs and Copenhagen Stock Exchange have used the GICS classification since 2001. The GICS classification will now also be adopted by Helsinki Stock Exchange, Iceland Stock Exchange, Tallinn Stock Exchange, Riga Stock Exchange and Vilnius Stock Exchange, commencing during the second quarter of 2005. This means that the listed securities in Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius and Iceland will be classified in accordance with GICS. The future industry classification and the actual effective date are to be communicated well in advance of them entering into effect.

“The introduction of an established, global industry classification standard on all NOREX exchanges is another step in the harmonization of the Nordic and Baltic markets. By introducing GICS, we seek to further improve interest in, and knowledge about, securities listed on the NOREX exchanges. Furthermore, investors will benefit from increased transparency,” said Jukka Ruuska, Chairman of NOREX and President of OMX Exchanges.

“We are delighted that all of the NOREX exchanges will be adopting GICS,” said Baer Pettit, managing director of MSCI. “This will enable investors to use this state-of-the-art classification standard to make consistent industry comparisons of the stocks traded on the NOREX exchanges.”

GICS facilitates industry analysis by classifying companies at four different levels: sectors, industry groups, industries and sub-industries. This classification is based upon each company’s principal business activity, meaning the business area that generates most of the company’s revenues.


About GICS
In 1999, MSCI and Standard & Poor’s jointly developed the GICS to establish a global standard for categorizing companies into sectors and industries, thereby enabling asset owners, asset managers and investment research specialists to make seamless company, sector and industry comparisons across countries, regions, and globally.

The GICS methodology has been widely accepted as an industry analysis framework for investment research, portfolio management and asset allocation. The GICS classification system consists of ten sectors, 24 industry groups, 64 industries (as of April 30, 2005) and 139 sub-industries (as of April 30, 2005). The GICS sectors are: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Information Technology, Telecommunication Services and Utilities. GICS DirectSM, a joint product of MSCI and S&P, was introduced in 2001. GICS Direct provides industry classifications for more than 25,000 companies and 28,000 securities. MSCI estimates that GICS Direct covers approximately 95 percent of the world’s equity market capitalization.

GICS was designed to classify a company according to its principal business activity. To make this determination, Standard & Poor’s and MSCI use revenues as a key measure of a company’s business activity. Earnings and market perception, however, are also recognized as important and relevant information for classification purposes and are taken into account during the review process. For a detailed description of the GICS, please refer to the Standard & Poor’s websites at www.gics.standardandpoors.com and the MSCI website at www.msci.com  


ABOUT OMX | OMX owns and operates the largest securities market in Northern Europe and is a leading provider of marketplace services and solutions for the financial and energy markets. OMX consists of two divisions: OMX Exchanges and OMX Technology. OMX Exchanges owns and operates the stock exchanges in Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius as well as the central securities depositories in Estonia and Latvia. Through OMX Exchanges, OMX offers access to 75 percent of the Nordic and Baltic securities market. OMX Technology is a provider of transaction technology, processing and outsourcing solutions. OMX is listed on Stockholm Stock Exchange and Helsinki Stock Exchange. For more information please visit www.omxgroup.com.

About NOREX | NOREX is a strategic alliance between the Nordic stock exchanges. The NOREX Alliance is unique in being the first stock exchange alliance to implement a joint system for equity trading and harmonizing rules and requirements between the exchanges with respect to trading and membership. NOREX was first established in June 1997 when Stockholm Stock Exchange and Copenhagen Stock Exchange signed a Letter of Intent on future collaboration. The Alliance consists of Copenhagen Stock Exchange, Iceland Stock Exchange, Oslo Børs and OMX Exchanges.