Riga Stock Exchange                                              01.07.2005



OMX introduces a common global industry classification standard from July 1



As a part of the integration of the Nordic and Baltic securities markets,

all six OMX exchanges will as of today use the same Global Industry

Classification Standard (GICS) for classifying listed securities. The listed

securities in Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius have now been classified

in accordance with the GICS standard, developed by Morgan Stanley Capital

International Inc. (MSCI) and Standard & Poor’s (S&P).  



A common Nordic-Baltic industry classification improves notably the

international comparability of the listed companies, and provides companies

with a clearly defined and larger peer group. The GICS classification covers

approximately 95 percent of the world’s equity market capitalization.  The

Copenhagen Stock Exchange and the Stockholm Stock Exchange have used the GICS

classification standard since 2001. The GICS classification is also in use at

the Oslo and Iceland stock exchanges. 



GICS facilitates industry analysis by classifying companies on four different

levels: sectors, industry groups, industries and sub-industries. The

classification is based on the business area that generates the majority of

the company’s revenues. The ten sectors in the GICS classification are:

Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples,

Healthcare, Financials, Information Technology, Telecommunication Services

and Utilities. The new classification will replace the current sector

classification of the Helsinki Stock Exchange.



In connection with the introduction of GICS, new sector indices will be

launched at the Helsinki Stock Exchange on July 1, 2005.More information

about the industry classification and the indices can be found at

<a href='http://www.omxgroup.com/helsinkistockexchange.' target='_blank'>http://www.omxgroup.com/helsinkistockexchange.</a>



For more information, please contact:

Anu Ilvonen, Communications Manager, OMX Exchanges        +358 9 6166 7599





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 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 <a href='http://www.omxgroup.com.' target='_blank'>http://www.omxgroup.com.</a>



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. 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 26,000 companies and 29,000 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

<a href='http://www.gics.standardandpoors.com' target='_blank'>http://www.gics.standardandpoors.com</a> and the MSCI website at <a href='http://www.msci.com' target='_blank'>http://www.msci.com</a>