THE CYPRUS Stock Exchange (CSE) will launch its three-tier market on Monday, September 6, in a bid to coax back investors burnt by boom and bust cycles, it said yesterday.
“We are making a new start. Cyprus needs a healthy stock exchange. The objective is to ensure transparency so that small and big investors have the necessary information,” said CSE chairman Akis Cleanthous at a news conference in Nicosia.
The three tiers will be the main, parallel and alternative markets, in addition to which there will be a market for investment companies and one for bonds.
The bourse’s 152 companies have been classified according to capitalisation, share dispersal and compliance with the code on corporate governance.
The authorities hope to improve the image of the Cyprus bourse, which has only just started to pull itself out of the doldrums after a protracted correction.
Thousands of investors were left in debt after sinking money in the market, which rose 688 per cent in 1999 and then plummeted.
September 6 will also see the launch of seven new indices, all starting from 1,000. The CSE’s all-share index will be made up of the companies in the main and parallel markets.
There will be a separate index for each of the five markets, as well as two sectoral indices – the banking and tourism sectors.
Also as of Monday, the 152 listed companies have been reclassified in line with FTSE rules, according to their main activity, such as basic materials, industrial, consumer goods, consumer services, financials and technology.
The main market will require a company to show full compliance with corporate governance rules and have a minimum capitalisation of £7 million.
It will also require that at least 25 per cent of shares are free floating and that the company publishes corporate results.
The most recent survey conducted by the bourse found that 31 per cent of listed companies accepted or would accept the corporate governance code.
The parallel market would require only partial compliance with the code, while the alternative market would require no compliance at all.
There will be 17 companies in the main market, 20 in the parallel market, 89 in the alternative market and 26 in the investment organisations category.
Both listing and trading criteria will remain more or less at current levels.
The code is a package of rules containing guidelines ranging from the need for regular internal audits to transparency. Although the guidelines are optional, companies are now required to either comply or explain why they opt out.
Main Market Companies
1. A. Panayides Contracting Public
2. A. Tsokkos Hotels
3. Α. Ζorpas and Son
4. Lanitis Brothers
5. Cyprus Trading Corporation Ltd
6. Hellenic Bank
7. F.W. Woolworth & Co. (Cyprus)
8. Libra Holidays Group Public
9. Logicom Public
10. Louis Public Company
11. Laiki Bank
12. Orphanides
13. Muskita Aluminium Industries Ltd
14. SFS Group Public Company Ltd
15. Bank of Cyrus
16. Vassiliko Cement
17. Vision International People Group Public Ltd
