FEDERATION OF EURO-ASIAN STOCK EXCHANGES
ANNUAL REPORT JUNE 2013
ZAGREB STOCK EXCHANGE
Ivana Gazic
President of the Management Board
After long negotiation process that commenced
in 2005, in July 2013 Croatia became the
28th European Union Member State. This is
a historical moment with great potential as it
opens up many new possibilities for Croatia
and the Croatian capital market.
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
The stock exchange trading in Croatia was
active since 1907 till 1911 and again since 1919
till 1945.
After the World War II the Zagreb Stock
Exchange was revived in 1991 as a joint-
stock company with 25 commercial banks
and insurance companies. From the initial 25
members (brokerage companies), thanks to the
trade growth and development the number of
members has climbed to some forty-odd active
traders today: banks and private brokerage
companies, and 43 shareholders. At the very
beginning, trading took place at big auctions
held at the Exchange head office with all brokers
actually physically present and in 1994, an
electronic trading system was introduced.
In 2007, the Croatian financial market
consolidated as the Varazdin Stock Exchange
merged with the Zagreb Stock Exchange.
These new circumstances, resulting in a larger
number of listed securities and greater trading
volume, along with a natural development of the
financial market that saw the investment climate
improve and gave rise to a stronger interest of
all market participants in new financial products,
highlighted the need for the implementation of
a new system that would be able to meet the
needs of the small, but extremely fast-growing
Croatian market.
The new trading platform was launched in
autumn 2007 and today Zagreb Stock Exchange
is a modern organization that plays a key role in
the Croatian capital market.
Increasing market efficiency, introducing
new products and new services, as well as
strengthening transparency and investors’
confidence are the primary tasks of Zagreb
Stock Exchange for the next period.
However, the economic environment is still very
uncertain and while awaiting the first signs of
economic recovery which are often mirrored
precisely on the exchange, we continue to
work on enhancing the transparency of listed
companies, on new products and services
while also striving to further increase market
efficiency. Zagreb Stock Exchange will continue to lead
the development of the capital market in the
region while providing transparent, secure,
cost-effective and efficient marketplace as
well as to obtain the highest quality of capital
market services in order to meet the needs of
investors, issuers and all stakeholders.
ZAGREB STOCK EXCHANGE IN
2013 and experience, and open a dialogue on the
steps which should be taken to enable further
development.
The first half of the year was marked by
optimism, predominantly thanks to the long-
awaited accession of the Republic of Croatia
to the European Union, and most efforts in that
period were aimed at harmonising the country’s
regulatory framework with that of the EU. In
that respect, a major reconstruction of the text
of the Rules and other regulatory Exchange
documents was undertaken to bring them
in line with the Capital Market Act while also
introducing new services in order to provide
for more transparent, efficient and effective
functioning of the local capital market.
Six new indices introduced in February enabled
easier monitoring of market trends and a more
comprehensive market overview; they are only a
first step in further development of data groups
to give investors a better insight into market
developments, thereby facilitating investment
decision making, which is also supported by
a changed format and expanded contents of
trading reports.
In the course of 2013, much attention was
paid to raising the level of transparency of
listed companies and to education: it was the
year in which the local capital market got its
first certified investor relations managers. That
programme is in its entirety an innovation of
the Zagreb Stock Exchange and is aimed at
promoting the corporate governance culture
and professional investor relations.
The ZSE Academy addressed the educational
needs of the financial community for the
fourth consecutive year, with more than 2600
participants attending numerous training
courses and seminars since 2010. A series
of meetings, roundtables, conferences and
other events were organised in 2013, providing
an opportunity to the market participants to
establish stronger ties, exchange knowledge
The Exchange continues to focus on improving
the corporate governance level and enabling
further education of issuers. Its new electronic
issuer surveillance system, implemented in the
second half of 2013, facilitated monitoring of
whether issuers perform their obligations in a
timely manner while also contributing to raising
the transparency level, as an essential factor
of optimal functioning of the capital market in
general.
Other important moments worth mentioning
include numerous new issues of certificates - as
another proof of the fact, confirmed in 2013, that
the market really needs novelties and accepts
them readily - as well as other share issues
requiring the engagement of specialists to
support their market liquidity, and longer trading
hours.
At the very end of the year, the Zagreb Stock
Exchange Award ceremony cast a ray of
optimism on the general situation. Presented
in seven categories, it keeps alive the tradition
of providing recognition and support to the
very best, since excellence certainly deserves
acknowledgement, in the hope that the future
may bring many more such upbeat occasions.
FUTURE OUTLOOK
While waiting to see the signs of a sustained
economic recovery, Zagreb Stock Exchange
will continue its work on encouraging issuers
to raise capital through the stock exchange,
developing new products and services,
maintaining market integrity and investors’
confidence as well as providing a reliable
mechanism for funding the growth of Croatian
economy and raising awareness about the
importance of capital markets as one of
the most significant factors in economic
development.
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