Slovenia’s Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE) and Hungary’s BETa, the multilateral trading facility operated by the Budapest Stock Exchange, have both chosen financial technology provider SunGard's Valdi for market connectivity.
Ljubljana Stock Exchange became a member of the Central Eastern Europe Stock Exchange Group (CEESEG) in 2009, together with the exchanges in Vienna, Prague and Budapest. The CEESEG group aims to develop more integrated markets that will make access easier for international investors.
BETa was launched in Hungary in November to provide retail investors with access to foreign shares. The product range initially consists of Finnish, French, German and Spanish shares, with others to be added in Q1.
SunGard’s Valdi market access service helps exchange members and their direct market access clients trade on global exchanges from any Valdi workstation or FIX application. The Valdi market access service also helps exchange members outsource their hardware and software requirements for market connectivity. The connection to both venues is intended to help Slovenian and Hungarian institutions and remote exchange member firms trade LJSE and BETa-listed products respectively more easily and cost-effectively.
“The Ljubljana Stock Exchange is always looking to attract European and global investors,” said Andrej Šketa, president of the management board of the LJSE.
The most traded instruments on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange market are shares, representing 84% of the total turnover in 2011. Listed Slovenian companies include pharmaceuticals company Krka (the most liquid with 44% of the equity turnover), Mercator, Petrol, Gorenje, Telekom, NKBM, Zavarovalnica Triglav and 65 others representing trade, telecommunications, finance, energy, appliance manufacturers and other industries.
“Current valuations of the LJSE-listed companies could present interesting opportunities for international investors,” said Polona Peterle, member of the management board of the LJSE. “With the high leverage of the Slovene companies, they are expected to look for new opportunities for additional capital on the capital markets. Furthermore, there are some potential privatisations of Slovene companies planned by the government in the near future.”