FEAS Yearbook FEAS Yearbook 2012 | Page 38

FEDERATION OF EURO-ASIAN STOCK EXCHANGES ANNUAL REPORT JUNE 2012 BELARUSIAN CURRENCY AND STOCK EXCHANGE Pavel Tsekhanovich Chairman of the Board Established in 1993, the Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange (BCSE) is a unique trading platform in the country that serves the financial market of Belarus. Today, the BCSE is a stable working organization with constantly growing trade turnovers. HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT The Interbank Currency Exchange was established 4 March 1993 by 18 leading business banks as a closed-type joint-stock company. Its main task was organizing trading in foreign currencies. On 24 March 1993, first trades in the Russian ruble were held in the electronic trading system. In 1995, the National Bank of Belarus granted the Interbank Currency Exchange the right to organize the purchase and sale of futures on foreign currency and other financial assets. On 24 September 1996 the Interbank Currency Exchange was made a subdivision of the National Bank, in which capacity it organized trading in foreign currencies for 2 years. In 1997, the Interbank Currency Exchange was granted the right to organize the secondary market of government securities (except for registered privatization vouchers) and the securities of the National Bank. The BCSE was established on the basis of the state-run Interbank Currency Exchange in December 29, 1998 as a non-profit, public company with administrative and financial autonomy. Having obtained the license to pursue exchange activities and the depository license, the exchange began to organize trading in the main segments of the financial market of Belarus (the currency market, the government securities market, the market of the National Bank’s bonds, the corporate securities market, the market of bonds of local loans and the market of bills of exchange) PAGE 36 The mission of the BCSE is to become the main power on the way of reforming the Belarusian organized financial market and to make it the basic source of investments for Belarusian enterprises. Main objective – formation of the highly efficient organized financial market in Belarus to meet the requirements of banks, professional participants of the securities market, investors and the state. Up-to-date technologies, client orientation, outreach services are the defining factors to achieve this purpose. First electronic government securities trades were carried out at the Interbank Currency Exchange on 16 January 1998. FUTURE OUTLOOK FOR 2012 Since 1999, BSCE has been carrying out depositary functions in the non-government market and clearing upon all concluded transactions. In 2007, the futures market sector was launched. Futures on US$ and EUR rate were the first instruments in this market. Functions of the BCSE • Organization of exchange trading in foreign currencies, futures and securities • Clearing Center in Belarusian settlement clearing system • Depository functions for corporate securities • Registration of OTC transactions with corporate securities • Information Center functions BCSE aims to: • minimize risks and transaction charges from capital formation in the organized market; • provide transparency of transactions; • protect investors’ legal rights and their interests; • implement programs on financial resources formation necessary for their development; • develop state monetary and credit policy market mechanisms; • create necessary conditions for effective controlling functioning of the State; • Implementation of the Development Concept of the Settlement and Clearing System in the securities market for 2010-2015; • Development of the exchange currency and stock markets; • Technological capacity enhancement - upgrading the corporate network infrastructure • Development and upgrade of the Internet- based exchange systems; • Developing the system of indices and indicators of the exchange securities market; • Introduction of new sectors and instruments in different segments of the exchange market; • Improving the system of monitoring of the on-exchange share market in order to prevent the price manipulation; • Development of information technologies.