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		<title>PFTS Stock Exchange: Analytics</title>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:56:10 +0300</pubDate>
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		<managingEditor>webmaster@pfts.com</managingEditor>
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			<title>Ukraine’s PFTS Stock Exchange selects the MICEX as its trading system software provider</title>
			<link>http://localhost/en/press-about-pfts/?n_id=4268</link>
			<description><![CDATA[&amp;nbsp;
The MICEX Group (&amp;ldquo;MICEX&amp;rdquo;), which integrates trading and settlement systems for Russia&amp;rsquo;s financial markets, announces on June 4 that it has been appointed as an exclusive trading systems software provider to PFTS Stock Exchange (&amp;ldquo;PFTS&amp;rdquo;), Ukraine &amp;rsquo;s leading trading floor. 
The appointment follows the international tender held by PFTS in March 2008. 
MICEX will set up the PFTS&amp;rsquo;s informational and technological platform, replicating the platform currently used for trading on the MICEX&amp;rsquo;s own exchange-based markets &amp;ndash; the Automated Securities Trading System (&amp;ldquo;ASTS&amp;rdquo;). 
Implementation of the project will be carried out by MICEX, in collaboration with NASDAQ OMX, the Swedish-American holding company that holds the rights on ASTS&amp;rsquo;s software. MICEX has been granted exclusive rights to implement ASTS software in Ukraine . The new trading system is expected to be launched on PFTS within seven months after the terms of engagement are finalised. 
Alexander Potemkin, MICEX President, commented on the appointment: &amp;ldquo;This project will significantly improve the reliability of PFTS&amp;rsquo;s trading system. It will also enhance trading participants&amp;rsquo; access to new trading modes and internet trading systems. The new trading system will be an important step in attracting new investment to the Ukrainian stock market and promoting the integration of Ukraine into the global financial system.&amp;rdquo; 
Irina Zarya, PFTS President, said: &amp;ldquo;The new system will support trading in the wide range of financial instruments available on the PFTS, as well as the Exchange&amp;rsquo;s order-driven and the quote-driven markets and clearing. It will also support the link with brokerage systems and the depository for internet trading. 
&amp;ldquo;Our trading volumes have more than doubled since the beginning of the year, and we require any newly implemented technological systems to be able to cope with our continuously growing trading volumes. We are excited to implement this new system which will enable us to process over 700,000 orders and to close over 400,000 transactions during one trading session.&amp;rdquo; ]]></description>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:32:56 +0300</pubDate>
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			<title>PFTS to become joint stock company in '08</title>
			<link>http://localhost/en/press-about-pfts/?n_id=4100</link>
			<description><![CDATA[&amp;nbsp;
KYIV, April 14 - Ukraine's main PFTS stock market will transform itself into a joint stock company in the third quarter of this year, a spokesman said on Monday, in a move that would open the door for foreign investment or a takeover.
The PFTS, created after the fall of the Soviet Union, has been up to now a non-profit association. Its rapid growth, although from a small base, has attracted the interest of both the Warsaw stock exchange and Russia's RTS market.
The stock exchange's president, Irina Zarya, in January promised significant investment in modernising the trading system, which suffered technical glitches that month after volumes jumped during global market turbulence.
The traditionally illiquid market was one of the fastest growing in the world last year, at 135 percent, although the value of trades at $6.236 billion in 2007 is still tiny compared to Ukraine's east European neighbours.
The PFTS accounts for 94 percent of the country's formal stock exchange market.]]></description>
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			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:05:04 +0300</pubDate>
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			<title>Ukraine bourse mulls status after M&amp;A interest</title>
			<link>http://localhost/en/press-about-pfts/?n_id=3993</link>
			<description><![CDATA[&amp;nbsp;
KYIV, March 24 - Ukraine's main PFTS stock market will decide soon whether to transform itself into a joint stock company, a spokesman said on Monday, in a move that would open the door for foreign investment or a takeover.
The PFTS, created after the fall of the Soviet Union, has been up to now a non-profit association. Its rapid growth, although from a small base, has piqued the interest of both the Warsaw stock exchange and Russia's RTS market. The PFTS's board will vote on the issue on April 11.
The stock exchange's president, Irina Zarya, promised in January significant investment in modernising the trading system, which suffered technical glitches that month after volumes jumped during global market turbulence.
The traditionally illiquid market was one of the fastest growing in the world last year, at 135 percent, although the value of trades at $6.236 billion in 2007 is still tiny compared to Ukraine's east European neighbours. The PFTS accounts for 94 percent of the country's formal stock exchange market, although the over-the-counter market is far larger and more liquid.]]></description>
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			<pubDate>Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:47:44 +0200</pubDate>
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			<title>Presentation to PFTS President’ speech at Adam Smith Conferences’ 4th Annual UKRAINIAN INVESTMENT SUMMIT (London, Mar. 10-12, 2008)</title>
			<link>http://localhost/en/press-about-pfts/?n_id=3961</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Presentation to PFTS President&amp;rsquo; speech at Adam Smith Conferences&amp;rsquo; 4th Annual UKRAINIAN INVESTMENT SUMMIT (London, Mar. 10-12, 2008)]]></description>
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			<pubDate>Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:59:57 +0200</pubDate>
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			<title>Kiev hopes to attract IPOs with new system</title>
			<link>http://localhost/en/press-about-pfts/?n_id=3845</link>
			<description><![CDATA[KIEV, Jan 31 - Ukraine's main stock exchange, which grew 135 percent last year, will create a system to make it possible for companies to launch initial public offerings, the stock exchange's president Irina Zarya told Reuters.
Some 335 companies are listed on the stock exchange, the PFTS, but they came onto the market through secondary sales of shares. There is currently no system in place to cope with big IPOs, forcing companies to list abroad.
&amp;quot;What we are doing is a specialised system which gives wider possibilities, allowing for both initial share issues as well as buying back shares,&amp;quot; Zarya said in an interview.
&amp;quot;The system allows for trading in shares and debt and gives significantly more instruments to do what the client-issuer and underwriter want to do,&amp;quot; she said.
The system will be in place within three months.
&amp;quot;We are creating a database of investors, including foreigners, whom we want to invite to our national auctions,&amp;quot; Zarya added.
Machine building, agriculture, and companies that would gain from Ukraine hosting the Euro 2012 soccer championship, such as developers and constructors, would likely be the first to consider IPOs, Zarya said.
She also said the stock exchange would &amp;quot;invest significant funds&amp;quot; in improving the trading system, which suffered technical glitches this month due to a surge in activity after global market volatility.
PFTS volumes, including corporate, government and municipal debt, and certificates doubled to 31.5 billion hryvnias ($6.2 billion) last year from 14.636 billion hryvnias in 2005.
The volume of shares traded has tripled in that time to 10 billion hryvnias (almost $2 billion).
But the higher volumes have strained the trading system, which wavered recently when activity surged after a U.S. rate cut caused global markets to rally following days of big losses.
&amp;quot;This year we will work on renewing the trading system to raise productivity in a time of increased volatility on global markets and a huge number of transactions,&amp;quot; Zarya said.
&amp;quot;By mid-February, we want to finish work on speeding up the information terminals.&amp;quot;
The longer-term goal would be to introduce a &amp;quot;new generation&amp;quot; system integrating all trading platforms and giving remote access to private investors, which could be introduced within 18 months, she said.
The new interest is helping with liquidity and the PFTS hopes will encourage companies to launch domestic IPOs rather than seek out foreign markets such as London, Frankfurt, Warsaw and Vienna.
Though global volatility, sparked by concerns that the United States could go into recession, has affected the trading system, Zarya saw no significant impact on its performance.
&amp;quot;Last year the PFTS index grew 135.4 percent. The index has fallen by 4.6 percent since the start of this year... I don't see any expectations of worse business conditions in Ukraine,&amp;quot; she said. &amp;quot;I do expect a continual rise in trade volumes.&amp;quot;  (Writing by Sabina Zawadzki; editing by Sue Thomas)]]></description>
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			<pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:20:55 +0200</pubDate>
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			<title>Analysts: Ukrainians in search of high returns should buy stocks</title>
			<link>http://localhost/en/press-about-pfts/?n_id=3798</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In Soviet Ukraine, citizens never learned how to invest their earnings.
The state provided citizens with meager salaries, just enough for people to support themselves and function in the Soviet state machine.
What money wasn&amp;rsquo;t spent on basic staples could have been deposited with the Soviet State Savings Bank, which offered accountholders a maximum 3 percent annual interest, but other investment options, like securities, simply did not exist.
Even today, as capitalist principles increasingly drive Ukraine&amp;rsquo;s economy, many citizens, who just 10 years ago resorted to hiding money around the house rather than entrusting it to banks, still see savings deposits (which they increasingly trust) and real estate as their only investment vehicles.
That is beginning to change.
Many Ukrainians will start actively investing into securities since &amp;ldquo;they do not have much of an alternative: either to get 15 percent annual interest from banks or 30-40 percent from investing into securities,&amp;rdquo; said Yuriy Fedorchenko, an analyst at Kyiv&amp;rsquo;s On-line Capital.
&amp;nbsp;
Putting money to work
Market analysts and professionals believe 2008 will be a breakthrough year for the securities market, with thousands of Ukrainians starting to invest. In anticipation, brokers have launched new investment funds targeting Ukrainian citizens in the past year, joining their portfolio of funds traditionally backed by Western portfolio investors.
In Ukraine, the ratio of those who keep their money in banks compared to those who invest in securities is 99 to 1, according to the Ukrainian Association of Investment Business (UAIB), a non-government, non-profit organization of stock market investors.&amp;nbsp; In the developed world, people generally invest one-third of their earnings into securities, another third into real estate, and the remaining third is kept in bank deposits, gold, and other instruments.
The majority of Ukrainians aren&amp;rsquo;t investing in investment funds and private pension funds for two reasons: lack of trust and information about the availability and purpose of such financial services; and an undeveloped network for providing such services, said UAIB Council Head Dmytro Leonov.
The securities fund services market is just taking off, Leonov said, and these funds&amp;rsquo; history with Ukrainian clients &amp;ldquo;is not more than four years old.&amp;rdquo;
The number of securities funds (both venture and non-venture funds) have grown from six to 745 between March 2003 to September 2007, according to UAIB.
Of those funds, the top 10 manage about a quarter of all assets available on the market of investment institutions.
The number of asset management companies has grown from five in January 2003 to 290 by October 2007, revealing that the popularity of investment funds and non-state pension funds has increased significantly.
Also, the number of share capital investment funds and corporate investment funds, which are focused on attracting resources from Ukrainian citizens, has grown from 109 to 153 during the first nine months of 2007.
Other markets that used to offer lucrative returns, such as real estate, are peaking and don&amp;rsquo;t as offer as high a rate of return in a relatively short period of time, analysts said.
Returns on securities funds are riskier, but much higher than depositing money with banks or investing in precious metals.
During the first six months of 2007, the return on non-venture investment funds totaled 23 percent, according to UAIB. Bank deposits provided an average return of 6 percent, while the profitability of gold was only 2 percent.
People are more educated about the stock market and ways to invest in securities, said Tatiana Yelfimova, marketing department head of KINTO, a securities broker-dealer. Twice as many people are interested in investing in securities compared to last year, she estimated.
KINTO, which has five pension and nine investment funds under its management, saw the value of its assets surge from $139 million in May 2007 to $173 million in six months.
Citing recent market research, Yelfimova said while nine out of 10 people consider money a reward for their work, only one out of 10 sees money as an instrument to be put to work.
At the same time, &amp;ldquo;there are many people who have not heard about such possibilities and they&amp;rsquo;re only familiar with bank deposits and insurance,&amp;rdquo; Yelfimova said.
This is understandable, since the stock market is just beginning to develop, she added.
&amp;nbsp;
Private pension funds
Another investment option gaining ground is the pension fund, which is theoretically meant as an alternative to the state-run pension fund as a means for Ukrainians citizens to make long-term retirement investments.
However, average Ukrainians are entering this market tentatively.
&amp;ldquo;So far, the main driving force and participants in non-state pension funds are enterprises that make payments into the funds for the benefit of their employees,&amp;rdquo; Leonov said.
Almost 94 percent of the money in non-state pension funds was received from businesses last year, according to UAIB.
But as figures attest, this trend is slowly on the upside.
The number of private pension funds has grown from 54 to 91 between 2005 and September 2007, according to UAIB. And the number of individuals participating in private pension funds increased from almost 35,000 to 193,000 between April 2005 and April 2007.
Ukrainians form a mental block with respect to non-state pension funds &amp;ldquo;since the word &amp;lsquo;pension&amp;rsquo; has been associated with the word &amp;lsquo;state&amp;rsquo; in our citizens&amp;rsquo; consciousness,&amp;rdquo; Leonov said.
In general, &amp;ldquo;changing the mindset of a financial services consumer is a lengthy process,&amp;rdquo; he added.
In his view, the state should conduct an effective public awareness campaign to make non-state pension funds more attractive for Ukrainians.
&amp;nbsp;
Stock market boom
The surge in individual investors has been occurring in step with the development of Ukraine&amp;rsquo;s stock market.
Despite an expected slowdown of the stock market&amp;rsquo;s growth last year, it&amp;nbsp; continues to grow and offer higher investment returns compared to bank deposits, analysts said.
Undeterred by political turmoil, the Ukrainian stock market grew in 2007 by a record 135 percent, ranking its growth second in the world behind China. Last year&amp;rsquo;s trade volume was $6.2 billion on PFTS, Ukraine&amp;rsquo;s top stock trading platform.
&amp;ldquo;The Ukrainian stock market has grown radically,&amp;rdquo; said Andriy Bespyatov, head of research at Kyiv-based Dragon Capital, a leading securities brokerage and investment banking firm.
Market capitalization has risen 11-fold since 2004, he said, trade turnover is 15 times higher and the number of companies being traded has mushroomed by a factor of 10 in three years, he said.
Growth is a result of the entry of large foreign investment funds, the appearance of local mutual funds, strong economic growth, improving transparency, profitability and still many undiscovered and undervalued stocks, analysts said.
&amp;ldquo;Even the recent global mortgage crisis practically didn&amp;rsquo;t affect the Ukrainian stock market, because the low liquidity and internal support on the side of investment funds were the main supporting factors&amp;rdquo;, said Constantine Lisnychyy, the managing director of international sales and new markets&amp;nbsp;at Sokrat, a brokerage and transactions advisory firm.
According to Sokrat&amp;rsquo;s conservative prognosis, the value of PFTS will grow 37.5 percent this year, based on estimates of potential asset growth. Optimistically, the Ukrainian stock market may grow as much as between 60 and 80 percent.
&amp;ldquo;The first half of 2008 will be affected by the consequences of mortgage crisis connected with poor results of global financial sector players,&amp;rdquo; Lisnychyy said.
&amp;ldquo;But as the external volatility declines, the inflow of western investments will pick up pace.&amp;rdquo;
The shares of 335 companies are currently traded on Ukraine&amp;rsquo;s PFTS, according to Lisnychyy.
&amp;ldquo;We expect a high interest in still-undervalued metallurgical assets, as well as the energy&amp;nbsp; and machine-building sectors in 2008,&amp;rdquo; Lisnychyy said. &amp;ldquo;Interest in the stock market by international players will be stimulated by new private placements and IPOs, the appearance of new players of the second echelon and privatization.&amp;rdquo;
Ukrainian legislators are expected to adopt a long-expected corporate governance law to tighten transparency requirements for Ukrainian companies wanting to be listed on PFTS.
This will eventually lead to an expansion of Ukraine&amp;rsquo;s stock market, especially in anticipation of IPOs of such large industrial groups as Metinvest, Interpipe and ISD Group scheduled for 2008-2009, experts said.
Considering the hryvnia will appreciate against the US dollar soon, investing in hryvnias in the Ukrainian stock market will be a promising alternative to keeping green bills in bank deposits, experts said.]]></description>
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			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:00:31 +0200</pubDate>
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			<title>Best performing world indexes in 2007</title>
			<link>http://localhost/en/press-about-pfts/?n_id=3785</link>
			<description><![CDATA[&amp;nbsp;
TOP 10*

    
        
            
            China CSI 300 index
            
            
            179.75%
            
        
        
            
            Ukranian PFTS index
            
            
            135.41%
            
        
        
            
            Slovenia total market
            
            
            96.90%
            
        
        
            
            Nigeria stock exchange
            
            
            87.17%
            
        
        
            
            Bangladesh DHAKA stock
            
            
            86.19%
            
        
        
            
            Croatia Zagreb crobex
            
            
            80.84%
            
        
        
            
            Brazil Bovespa stock index
            
            
            72.44%
            
        
        
            
            Istanbul ISE national 100 index
            
            
            71.91%
            
        
        
            
            African Mauritius stock exchange
            
            
            70.00%
            
        
        
            
            Bombay BSE sensex 30 index
            
            
            65.23%
            
        
    

*Bloomberg's 90 primary global indexes. Performances since Dec . 31, 2006, in $U.S. terms.
&amp;nbsp;
UKRAINE: Ukraine's PFTS index delivered the blockbuster return. It gained 135 per cent in 2007, and was the star performer in Europe. The companies listed on the index are relatively large cap compared with other emerging European markets. 
SLOVENIA: The Slovenian Total Market index logged a robust 97 per-cent return in 2007. Slovenia joined the European single currency last January, almost 16 years after declaring independence from the former Yugoslavia. Its equity market has been fuelled by money from government-owned pension funds.
NIGERIA: The Nigeria index climbed an impressive 87 per cent in 2007 as investors increasingly became encouraged by high oil income and economic reform in Africa's most populous nation. More Nigerian banks and manufacturing companies have been going to the public market to raise funds.
BANGLADESH: India was hot last year, but the stock market of its neighbour was sizzling. The benchmark Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) General Index, posted an 86-per-cent return in 2007 - the second-best performing Asian index. A government pledge to sell state enterprises has attracted investors.
CHINA: The CSI 300 Index, which tracks A-class shares traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, gained a dazzling 179 per cent in 2007. While the country's benchmark Shanghai index is off 14 per cent from a record high of 6,124.04 points in October, it is still up 96 per cent. It's been a volatile year with a sharp correction in February that sparked a global selloff.]]></description>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:39:05 +0200</pubDate>
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