Companies with best investor relations and Member of the Year in the Baltic market announced

04.12.2008 RIG

Riga, December 3, 2008 – NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) announced the companies from the NASDAQ OMX Baltic market with the best investor relations (IR) in 2008. The Baltic Market Awards ceremony took place simultaneously in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius, the capitals of the Baltic States. The live broadcast of the ceremony enabled an invited audience of more than six hundred guests to enjoy a single pan Baltic ceremony and congratulate the winners regardless of being physically located in different countries.

Investor relations in 2008 were evaluated and winners awarded in 5 categories
• The Best Investor Relations in the Baltic Countries – “SAF Tehnika”
• The Best Investor Relations in the Baltic Countries among Small Cap Companies – “SAF Tehnika”
• The Best Annual Report in the Baltic Countries – “VST”
• The Best Investor Relations Online in the Baltic Countries – “Grindeks”
• The most visible improvement over the year in the Baltic Countries – “Eesti Ehitus”

Also best companies in each Baltic stock exchange were announced:
• The Best Investor Relations in Tallinn Stock Exchange – “Baltika”
• The Best Investor Relations in Riga Stock Exchange – “SAF Tehnika”
• The Best Investor Relations in Vilnius Stock Exchange – “TEO LT”

In view that the market quality is driven not only by issuers but also by stock exchange members “The member of the year in the Baltic countries” award acknowledging the member with the highest trading activity and the best practices is also part of the Baltic Market Awards project. The Member of the Year prize for 2008 was awarded to “SEB Bankas” from Lithuania.

Capital markets are by their nature dynamic and thus investor relations evolves continuously. Over the past five years, a number of drivers have significantly impacted investor relations in the Baltic Markets, among them: reporting requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), European Union directives and national legislation; adoption of corporate governance codes, increased standardization of extra-financial reporting of environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators; investor demands for improved corporate disclosure; information technology advancements and other drivers It is extremely encouraging to see the progress made in the Baltic Market over a short period of time, and we hope to continue to drive improvements in the future, noted Geoffrey Mazullo, Chairman of the Baltic Market Awards Evaluation Committee and Director of the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program, East-West Management Institute.

“Excellence in investor relations is being honored. As an organization we value the power of IR; in fact we are unique as an exchange in the breadth and depth of support we provide to IR professionals. Congratulations to our 2008 winners and I invite all our issuers and members to use the network and possibilities that our global company offers to you not only in Baltics but also in Stockholm, London, NY and many other places in the world.
I also want to thank our excellent members for their support and extend particular thanks and congratulations to our member of the year,” said Bob Greifeld, CEO of The NASDAQ OMX Group addressing the winners and the audience.

The Baltic exchanges introduced The Baltic Market Awards in 2006. The aim of the project is to highlight best achievements in IR among listed companies and motivate companies to pay attention to investor relations and adapt best practices, as well provide companies with individual evaluation and consultancy from exchange side. Each company is evaluated by more than 100 criteria, comprising the quality of annual and periodical reports, disclosures, web page and analysts’ opinions. This year 68 companies were evaluated.

Top 20 ranking Baltic companies:
1. SAF Tehnika
2. TEO LT
3. Baltika
4. Tallinna Vesi
5. Sanitas
6. Eesti Telekom
7. Grindeks
8. VST
9. Invalda
10. Eesti Ehitus
11. Latvijas Kuģniecība
12. Merko Ehitus
13. Latvijas Gāze
14. Arco Vara
15. Vilkyškių pieninė
16. Harju Elekter
17. Limarko laivininkystės kompanija
18. Lietuvos dujos
19. Ekspress Grupp
20. Stumbras

“We are pleased to see the improvement. The average score for Baltic companies has increased by 9,3 % in 2008. Since we started the project in 2006 the results have shown a remarkable 28% improvement which means companies have made a substantial effort to meet the needs of investors and communicate with them openly. Our Customer Surveys also show that The Baltic Market Awards initiative as such has been one of the driving forces behind the improvement. The biggest progress is related to the quality of periodic reports, web pages, and annual reports, the quality measure of those have almost doubled. However the quality of corporate disclosures does not show that remarkable results. This is still something that we expect companies to work on in the future,” said Henrik Elfving, president of NASDAQ OMX Baltic market.

The members of the Evaluation Committee represent academics, investors and the Baltic Stock exchanges; as noted above, it was chaired by Geoffrey Mazullo, Director of the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program, East-West Management Institute. The company analysis was conducted by students from the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, under the supervision of the evaluation committee and the Stock Exchanges.

ABOUT NASDAQ OMX
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world’s largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, and with over 3,900 companies, it is number one in worldwide listings among major markets. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market; the OMX Nordic Exchange, including First North; and the 144A PORTAL Market. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and ETFs. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 60 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. OMX Nordic Exchange is not a legal entity but describes the common offering from Nasdaq OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit www.nasdaqomx.com.

Media Contacts:
Tex Vertmann, Communications Manager
Tallinn Stock Exchange +372 640 8862

Āris Dreimanis, Head of Corporate Communications
Riga Stock Exchange +371 67 212431

Gintare Blazyte, Communication Manager
Vilnius Stock Exchange +370 5 272 3458