FEDERATION OF EURO-ASIAN STOCK EXCHANGES
ANNUAL REPORT JUNE 2013
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)
First electronic government securities trades
were carried out at the Interbank Currency
Exchange on 16 January 1998.
Since 1999, BSCE has been carrying out
depositary functions in the non-government
market and clearing upon all concluded
transactions.
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.
In 2007, the futures market sector was
launched. Futures on US$ and EUR rate were
the first instruments in this market. CAPITAL MARKET DEVELOPMENT
AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
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 KEY SOLUTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT ON
THE SECURITIES MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Tax liberalization for operations in bonds;
Simplification of bond issue procedure;
Introduction of on-exchange bonds as a
separate type of bonds;
Cancellation of the moratorium on free
circulation of stocks;
Transition to exchange market circulation for all
stocks of open joint-stock companies;
Municipal bond market formation
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;
FUTURE OUTLOOK
• Improving legal documents on exchange
activity
• Functional and technological development of
the exchange market
• Functional development of the clearing and
settlement system
• Development of listing mechanisms
• Introducing new stock indexes
• Expanding the range of exchange financial
instruments
• Creating conditions for liquidity increase in
the exchange securities market
• Development of information and analytical
infrastructure of the exchange securities
market, expanding the range of analytical
services
• Increasing the level of information safety
BCSE ACTIVITY TODAY
Since the first days of its formation (December
1998), the Belarusian Currency and Stock
Exchange has been participating in the
technological development of the stock market,
improving its regulatory framework and involving
a wide range of financial assets in the exchange
turnover.
Today the BCSE is the only trading floor in the
republic serving as a basis for a nationwide
trade system in all major segments of the
financial market: currency, stock and futures.
Except for the organization of trading, the BCSE
functions as the settlement and clearing system
operator, provides information and depository
services, electronic document services,
registration of OTC transactions in securities.
Currently, the trading floor is widely used not only
by banks and broker and dealer companies,
but also by the government in performing its
essential economic functions, including:
• privatization transactions carried out by the
State Property Committee;
• establishment of the official exchange rate of
Belarusian rouble to the Russian rouble and
US dollar by the National Bank upon trading
totals in foreign currency;
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