LAUNCHING OF A SECOND CAPITAL MARKET FOR TRADE IN LESS LIQUID COMPANIES IS UNDERWAY

In 2012, a second regulated capital market will be launched in Bulgaria, mainly for trade in less liquid companies. The idea is stipulated in the Strategy for Development of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) - Sofia by the end of 2012. It aims at creating a market for emissions of low-liquidity and at optimising the segmentation of BSE - Sofia. All share emissions that do not meet certain minimum liquidity criteria are expected to be transferred to this market. Thus, only actively traded companies will remain on the main market of BSE - Sofia. Such a division will significantly enhance the quality of the statistical information for the Bulgarian capital market and will avoid the distortions created by companies with non-market behaviour, experts say. 

These ideas were discussed yesterday at a meeting of the management of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, the Capital Market Commission, at the National Council with the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA). 

Ivan Takev, Executive Director of BSE told Klassa that the idea is for another regulated market to be set up. "The overall concept, however, is still not clarified and the criteria have not been specified," said Takev. Takev confirmed that the idea was for less liquid companies, which have created a lot of controversy in the last two years, to be traded on the new market. "It is possible that other companies will be listed for trade as well but everything depends on the criteria that we will determine," added the Head of BSE. 

The proposed changes were approved at the meeting of BICA but experts shared the opinion that the companies transferred to the second regulated market should enjoy certain benefits such as lower taxes and to be exempted from the obligation to provide information to the extent required on the main capital market.