AT LEAST ONE BULGARIAN ISSUER WANTS TO GET LISTED ON THE BUCHAREST STOCK EXCHANGE The Romanian Central Depository might connect to its Bulgarian peer within two to three months

The Romanian Central Depository might connect to its Bulgarian peer within two or three months, Ivan Dimov, the head of the latter said yesterday, after a Bulgarian company expressed its intention to get listed on the Romanian stock Exchange.

Thus, Bulgarian issuers would have access to a more liquid market. The Bucharest Stock Exchange had an average turnover of 9.6 million Euros, compared to 1.5 million Euros in Sofia.

The Sofia Stock Exchange has a capitalization of 6.173 billion Euros, and the Bucharest Stock Exchange has a capitalization of 17.37 billion Euros.

Yesterday, the two exchanges signed a memorandum of understanding, and for now, will cooperate, on the creation of a common index.

Furthermore, this spring in Sofia, Valentin Ionescu, the general manager of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, expressed the intention of the company he leads to participate in the privatization of its Bulgarian peer, scheduled to take place next year.

The budget of the BSE for this year stipulated the acquisition of stakes in other exchange operators, but according to Valentin Ionescu, no projects of that nature have yielded any concrete results. Over time, the exchanges of Warsaw and the Nordic Stock Exchange Group OMX were interested in acquiring stakes in the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.

At the end of last week, Ivan Takev, the managing director of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, gave us an interview concerning their plans in cooperation with the Bucharest Stock Exchange, as well as the events of the next year on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.

In the coming months, the most important event will be the privatization of 33% stakes of the Bulgarian state in three of the energy distribution companies - E.ON, CEZ and EVN - through the Sofia Stock Exchange, Ivan Takev said in October.

The secondary offering in the distribution company EVN Bulgaria, of which the Bulgarian government will sell 33% for an amount of 250 million Euros, will take place this year, Ivan Takev said yesterday.