WSE takes top spot

The Warsaw Stock Exchange has moved into first place in terms of capitalization in the CEE region, overtaking the Vienna Stock Exchange, according to the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE). In Europe, the WSE is currently second only to the London Stock Exchange in the number and the value of debuts.

In mid-August, the WSE's capitalization reached EUR126.2 (zł.417.3) billion, while the VSE's was EUR117.3 (387.7) billion, a difference of around E8.9 (zł.29.4) billion. As recently as the beginning of the year, the Vienna exchange's capitalization was EUR12 (zł.39.7) billion higher than the WSE's.

The gap may continue to widen too, since the Warsaw bourse leads the region in number of IPOs. Experts noted that the privatization of large state-owned companies in the near future and the rapid development of the Polish economy could also help the WSE stay on top. 

The Warsaw exchange is popular in the region and tends to be preferred over its counterparts in Prague or Budapest, according to Roland Paszkiewicz, chief analyst at CDM Pekao.

"The bourse has secured its position among entrepreneurs and is a significant player in Polish business life," he said.

Paszkiewicz added that WSE's assumption of the top position in the region could be used for marketing purposes. He added a caveat, however, noting that other indicators, such as market liquidity, were lower than in other big European players. Paszkiewicz said that the WSE should concentrate on attracting more, and larger, domestic companies.

"The expected privatization of huge state-owned companies will be a key driver for growth, although their flotation is still a vague prospect," he said.

"Consolidation processes are taking place and if [the WSE] does not develop it will be marginalized by other, bigger bourses," he added.