STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 29, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Today, OMX presents a proposal for the OMX List, the access point to the Nordic listed companies. Following the harmonization of trading rules and systems in the Nordic Baltic region, the time has come to create a common offering on the issuers' side as well. The OMX List includes harmonization of listing requirements for the Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki exchanges as well as a common way of presenting companies. By creating a common list and presentation model the visibility and liquidity of Nordic shares will be improved and the competitiveness of the Nordic region enhanced.
OMX's ambition is to make it easy for market participants to operate in the Nordic market and for investors to compare listed companies and choose from a wider variety of investment opportunities. The greater the number of participants, the more market activity will increase. As a result, pricing will become more efficient, and liquidity will increase. In short, the OMX List will attract even more investors and more capital to the region.
"I am proud to introduce the OMX List, a Nordic standard of an international caliber that will increase the competitiveness of the Nordic region. Together, the listed companies will comprise a larger peer group that will facilitate comparisons on a Nordic and international level. Regardless of whether the listed company is large or small, the OMX List will provide exposure to a greater number of investors and access to larger capital flows. As a result, listed companies will benefit from increased liquidity in their shares and investors will find it easy to navigate in the Nordic markets," says Jukka Ruuska, President of OMX Exchanges.
OMX proposes that the OMX List with harmonized listing requirements be introduced at the exchanges in Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen mid-2006. The OMX List will replace the current A List and O List in Stockholm, the Main List, I List and NM List in Helsinki and the current list in Copenhagen. The local stock exchanges will continue to be the listing venue and point of contact for already listed companies and future applicants to the OMX List. Currently listed companies will all be listed on the OMX List from the start.
The OMX List is designed to provide best possible visibility to all listed companies and to secure the high quality and transparency of the Nordic markets. It is also in line with European benchmarks and existing and coming EU directives.
The companies listed on the OMX List of the local exchange will be presented in a common way divided into segments, which helps to ensure the visibility of the companies and gives investors easy sorting opportunities. Companies will be presented first by market capitalization and then by industry sector following the international Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), already in place at the OMX exchanges. There will be three new market capitalization segments:
-- Large Cap (market value more than 1 billion euro). -- Mid Cap (market value between 150 million and 1 billion euro) -- Small Cap (market value less than 150 million euro)
The home exchange and trading currency for the stock will be stated for each company, so that investors that wish to follow only the local market will be able to do so.
It is anticipated that the new list structure will not change the tax situation in any of the three countries.
The creation of one Nordic home-market will in the long run entail also the harmonization of other closely related issues, such as disclosure rules and listing processes. These will be the next steps to be taken jointly with OMX's stakeholders. Parallel to the creation of the OMX List, OMX is working on the harmonization of the Baltic markets. In the long run it is OMX's intention to create a fully integrated Nordic and Baltic home-market.
To complement the offering towards small companies, OMX is working on establishing a so-called alternative marketplace. The Nordic alternative marketplace will be based on the Swedish Nya Marknaden and the new Danish alternative marketplace that will be launched by the end of the year. Further initiatives to the Nordic alternative markets are one of OMX's milestones, and a broader concept is planned for presentation in the near future.
For more information about the OMX List, including the proposed new listing requirements and the list of companies according to the new market segmentation, see www.omxgroup.com.
About OMX Exchanges
OMX is a leading partner for more efficient securities transactions. OMX consists of two divisions: OMX Technology and OMX Exchanges. Through the OMX Exchanges division, OMX owns and operates the equity, fixed-income and derivatives exchanges in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius as well as the central securities depositories in Estonia and Latvia. Through OMX Exchanges, OMX offers access to approximately 80 percent of the Nordic and Baltic Securities market. For more information please visit www.omxgroup.com.
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