The WSE turns 17
As the Warsaw Stock Exchange celebrated its 17th birthday last week, bourse president Ludwik Sobolewski talked about the initiatives the exchange is undertaking to build its position in the region. These include the promotion of innovation, extension of the trading day and cooperation with foreign bourses.
"The Warsaw bourse is one of the most vibrant in the CEE region," Sobolewski noted. Although the WSE's capitalization is significantly lower than that of Western bourses, it is a European leader in the number of debuts held.
Since the beginning of the year, nine companies have debuted on the WSE's main market and 17 on its NewConnect alternative trading platform. The total value of those debuts amounted to zł.428.5 million, zł.359 million on the main market and zł.69.5 million on NewConnect. Despite the downturn on global financial markets, the bourse is still developing steadily and no slowdown in the number of IPOs is expected, according to the WSE.
Addressing the future
Sobolewski stressed, however, that the exchange would not become a regional leader without a great deal of effort. Luring new investors is the key challenge, especially if the bourse aims to raise its capitalization.
"Bourses around the world have to compete with one another for investors, who are in limited supply," Sobolewski noted.
Promoting innovation among the companies can be the major factor in attracting new investors, according to the WSE's president. "We have relatively few assets in Poland, but we have substantial intellectual capital," he said.
Improving the flow of information between analysts, companies and investors is another step the bourse wants to take. "There is a gap in the information process," Sobolewski said.
To bridge this gap, the bourse established a "code of good practices," a set of guidelines for corporate reporting, in July last year. It also launched the GPWInfostrefa information website and a Ukrainian version of the WSE site. A Council for Education and Information Orderliness (Rada Edukacji i Ładu Informacyjnego), a body to supervise the flow of information, is now being launched.
Steps to increase listed companies' liquidity and to extend the length of trading sessions are other key steps to be taken in the near future. The daily close of trade will be moved from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm this year, and to 5:30 pm next year.
Enter the dragon
Developing international cooperation is another priority and the bourse already cooperates closely with Ukrainian stock markets. Last week the WSE signed a cooperation agreement with three Taiwanese stock markets: the Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX), the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSEC) and the GreTai Securities Market (GTMS). The deal aims to create conditions for dual listings, to provide new investment products and to facilitate the exchange of experience between the two markets.
The agreement with Taiwanese bourses is a good step to promote the Polish market in the Far East, although no tangible profits should be expected in the short run, Jan Woniak, a member of the board and head of treasury at HSBC, commented on the deal.
