Estonian securities market in the second quarter of 2007

06.07.2007 TLN

A debut on the stock exchange was made in April by Ekspress Group and in June by Arco Vara whose shares were quoted in the Main list of the Tallinn Stock Exchange. In the second quarter, four new members– AS Norvik Banka and AS Baltic Trust Bank in April, Trasta Komercbanka in May and DnB NORD Bankas AB in June – were joined the Tallinn Stock Exchange.

“The new companies listed each year have boosted the market as expected. The awareness of investors of possibilities and also risks concerning investments continues to improve and the on-going events on the market are followed closely. Many active small investors successfully take advantage of steep price movements, thus stabilising the market as a whole,” Kalle Viks, the Managing Director of the Tallinn Stock Exchange, commented on the events on the securities market.

The stock exchange index OMX Tallinn (OMTX) increased in the second quarter by more than 7%; however, the historic record result achieved at the beginning of the first quarter was not exceeded. By the end of the half-year, the index increased to 961.55 points. The Baltic benchmark index OMX Baltic Benchmark (OMXBBGI) rose by nearly 6%, reaching 825.59 points.

The total number of stock exchange transactions made last year (62,893) has been exceeded to date since 84,261 stock exchange transactions were made within the first half-year. The percentage of private persons in stock exchange transactions in Estonia is continuously increasing, as shown by a nearly 36% decrease in the volume of an average stock exchange transaction (average stock exchange transaction in the second quarter of 2007 was EUR 13,619 and EUR 21,212 in the second quarter of 2006).

Trading within the Baltic States is also active. A total of 5587 cross-border securities transfers were made between Estonia and Latvia in the first half of 2007, which exceeds the total number of such cross-border transfers during 2006 (4 703). The activity regarding securities transfers between Estonia and Lithuania is similar: the number of transfers made in the first half-year (34,920) exceeds the total number of transfers made in 2006 (21,309).

“The number of domestic securities transactions in Estonia as well as that of cross-border transactions rose rapidly during the first months of 2007. The recovery of securities transactions between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was favourably influenced by the fact that as of now besides stock exchange transactions the members of Baltic stock exchanges and central depositories can settle cross-border also over-the-counter delivery versus payment transactions. Thus the depositories of Baltic States offer a full solution for settlement of securities between states,” explained Kristel Johanson, the Managing Director of Estonian Central Securities Depository.

As of the first half-year of 2007, the number of companies registered with the Estonian Central Securities Depository was 6507. While the number of public limited companies is still declining compared to the last year, the registration of private limited companies is on the upswing. In the first half-year, 209 private limited companies or on average 35 companies per month registered their shares with the register. As of the end of June, 1381 private limited companies have registered their shares in the central register. The total value of securities registered with the Estonian Central Securities Depository amounted over EUR 10.2 billion.

More information: Tallinn Stock Exchange and Estonian CSD statistics 2007, Baltic Bulletin, OMX Nordic Exchange statistics.