ISE Boosted By Strong Performance In 2003

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

19 January 2004

The Irish Stock Exchange has reported continued strong growth in equity trading volumes in 2003 with the value of shares traded on the Exchange up by 10% to EUR77.5 billion.

In its review of performance for 2003, the exchange reported that the average daily equity turnover on the Exchange for 2003 was €306 million, a 10% increase on the overall 2002 daily average of €278 million, whilst companies listed on the Exchange raised €749 million through the issuance of shares to the market.

“This was another year of excellent performance,” commented Exchange Chief Executive Tom Healy. “There is a strong possibility that, after three years of companies leaving the Irish market, we will see renewed interest in new issues in 2004. There are indications that private companies, their corporate financiers and investment bankers are increasingly adopting (a positive) view.”

Last year also saw continued strong growth in specialist debt securities listings with a 139% increase in the number of programmes listed to 103, and a 53% increase in the number of non-programmes to 707. In addition, the Exchange continues to play a pivotal role in the development of Ireland as a location for securitisation special purpose vehicles. The assets underlying these listed entities range from Air France aircraft to BBC House in London to the National Treasury Management Agency’s €8 billion European commercial paper programme, according to ISE.

Meanwhile, the number of investment funds and sub-funds listed on the Irish market grew by 12% with the introduction of 674 new entities in 2003 of which 87 took place in the fourth quarter. This brings the number of funds and subfunds listed on the Exchange at the end of September to 3,433.

During 2003, the Irish Stock Exchange became the largest centre in the world for this specialised listing business.

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