The Baltic stock exchanges to introduce GICS standard for I-list companies

22.12.2005 VLN

A common industry classification improves notably the international comparability of the listed companies, and provides companies with a clearly defined and larger peer group.
Currently all OMX exchanges (Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius) use the same classification standard for the listed companies. The GICS classification is also in use at the exchanges in Oslo, and Iceland. Since July 1, 2005, the Baltic stock exchanges first introduced the GICS classification standard for their Main List companies.

The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) is developed by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) and Standard & Poor’s (S&P), who estimate that it covers approximately 95 percent of the world’s equity market capitalization. GICS facilitates industry analysis by classifying companies at four different levels: sectors, industry groups, industries and sub-industries. The classification is based upon the business area that generates the majority of the company’s revenues. The 10 sectors in the GICS classification are: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Information Technology, Telecommunication Services and Utilities.

GICS classification of the Baltic Main List companies

GICS classification of the Baltic I-List companies

For more information, please contact:

Inese Purgaile, Corporate Communications Specialist 
OMX Exchanges/ Riga Stock Exchange +371 7212431

Diana Sokolova, Marketing and Communications Manager
OMX Exchanges/ Vilnius Stock Exchange +370 5 272 13 71

Tex Vertmann, Communications Manager
OMX Exchanges/ Tallinn Stock Exchange +372 640 8862

About OMX Exchanges | OMX is a leading partner for more efficient securities transactions. OMX consists of two divisions: OMX Technology and OMX Exchanges. Through the OMX Exchanges division, OMX owns and operates the equity, fixed-income and derivatives exchanges in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius as well as the central securities depositories in Estonia and Latvia. Through OMX Exchanges, OMX offers access to approximately 80 percent of the Nordic and Baltic Securities market. For more information please visit www.omxgroup.com.

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 10 sectors, 24 industry groups, 64 industries 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 then 25,000 companies and 28,000 securities. MSCI and S&P estimate that GICS Direct covers approximately 95% 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 web sites at www.gics.standardandpoors.com and the MSCI website at www.msci.com