contacts
Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission cysec.gov.cy Ministry of Finance mof.gov.cy Cyprus Stock Exchange cse.com.cy
New Initiatives
The Cyprus Stock Exchange provides fast and simple listing procedures and a competitive pricing policy
In an effort to expand its business, the CSE is focusing on sectors that are showing strong performance, such as funds, shipping, and energy. The aim is to ensure the securities market can provide the necessary tools and prospects to participants to achieve their targets, and also provide regional market participants and companies a convenient venue for listing and investing in a transparent, efficient and business-friendly environment. With regards to funds, the Cyprus Stock Exchange has several initiatives. It already operates two markets for listing funds, the Market for Tradable Collective Investment Schemes and the Market for Non-Tradable Collective Investment Schemes. Listing provides visibility and transparency to investors, and the Exchange provides fast and simple listing procedures and a competitive pricing policy. In addition, the CSE has recently launched a new service in order to offer registry services to fund managers, which means main-
taining the registry of unit holders of non-tradable funds in the CSE’s Central Depository and Central Registry in a dematerialised form, and handling redemptions and transfers of funds’ units. As for shipping, together with the Athens Exchange – with which it has a common trading platform – the CSE is examining the possibility of creating a new market for listing bonds by shipping companies. In the energy sector, the CSE now holds a 10% stake in the Hellenic Energy Exchange (HEnEx) – which was founded as part of the EU’s target model to create a single energy market and is expected to launch operations in mid-2019. Furthermore, based on CSE’s participation in HEnEx, the CSE Council has submitted a proposal to the Government of Cyprus, in order to serve the Cypriot Electricity Market, as an operator.
Sector Profile
KEY
The Main Market, Alternative Market, Corporate Bonds Market, Government Bonds Market, Collective Investment Schemes Market and the Depository Receipts are all segments of the Regulated Market, which currently lists 66 International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs) for shares, 26 ISINs for bonds and 21 ISINs for funds. The ECM has segments for shares, bonds, shares whose registry is not kept by the Cyprus Central Securities Depository and Central Registry (CSD), and bonds whose registry is not kept by the Cyprus CSD – with 41 ISIN’s for shares and 29 for bonds listed in total. The ECM offers simplified listing criteria at a low cost and is successfully attracting companies both locally and internationally. It has evolved from being mainly focused on small domestic companies, to a growing international market offering opportunities to companies from around the world – and allows for a more personalised service at competitive fees, particularly to companies that are too small to list on a larger exchange or wish to gain their first experience of listing securities within the EU. The ECM has proved resilient and successful in the last years, despite the adverse economic climate and allows companies with an attractive commercial proposition to attract funds. Additionally, the Exchange also has the responsibility for the establishment and management of a Central Depository and Central Registry (CSD). The majority of the securities listed on the CSE are registered also in the CSD. Issuers of non-listed securities, that wish to have their registry maintained by the Cyprus Stock Exchange may assign this job to the Cyprus CSD.
Trading Volume
Due to the adverse financial conditions of past years on a large number of listed issuers, the value of shares, bonds and other instruments traded on the Exchange has remained relatively weak, despite moderate recent growth. For 2018 the turnover amounted to €132 million, which represents a year-on-year increase of 58.1%, compared to the turnover of €83 million in 2017. The daily average turnover for 2018 was €0.5 million in 2018, compared to €0.3 million in 2017. The financial sector was the largest economic sector with 58.12%, followed by the consumer services sector with 17.71% of the equity market capitalisation. However, the Exchange is growing and has already managed to attract companies from different sectors of the economy such as: basic materials, oil and gas, technology and telecommunications, consumer goods (food & beverage and personal & household goods), consumer services (retail, media, travel & leisure), from industry the construction and materials segment, and financial sector players such as banks, insurance firms and real estate companies. Supporting a Growing Funds Industry
Funds are a new and promising industry in Cyprus and much effort has been made by the authorities and market participants to attract both local and international funds for registration-licensing in Cyprus with the aim of promoting the country as a funds jurisdiction. A CSE listing provides a number of advantages for fund managers and investors. The CSE is an EU-regulated and recognised Exchange, which provides a transparent fund profile and credibility to investors. It has fast and simple listing procedures with minimum Country Report CYPRUS 2019
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