Agreement is reached on Polish-Lithuanian stock exchange harmonization

An agreement on harmonization of regulations between the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) and the state-owned Lithuanian National Stock Exchange (LNSE) was signed by the exchanges' presidents yesterday. The agreement maps out a plan for mutual promotion of the Polish and the Lithuanian markets among domestic investors, as well as an information exchange plan and coordination of legal regulations on the two bourses. Wieslaw Rozlucki, the president of WSE, told daily Gazeta Wyborcza that the two bourses will also look into introducing into LNSE the Warset computer system already used by WSE. Both presidents agree the cooperation will help them gain interest from international investors and will introduce the stock exchanges to the international network of bourse alliances. Although the agreement neither contains exclusivity clauses nor specifies a capital link between the two exchanges, it is likely WSE will place its bid during LNSE's privatization next year. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 19; Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 23) M.T.K.