The Bucharest Stock Exchange will set up an Alternative Trading System (ATS) for start-ups, unlisted stocks and companies listed on the Rasdaq

• Stere Farmache: The ATS could be the gateway which will allow new companies to enter the market

On Tuesday, almost two years after the project was first announced, the new Board of the Bucharest Stock Exchange approved the final version of the Alternative Trading System (ATS), which will be managed by the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

While the initial plan for the ATS was to use it as a tier for trading stocks of companies that no longer met the requirements for being listed on the Rasdaq, the management of the stock exchange now plans to bring start-ups and unlisted companies on this segment.

The implementation of the project still needs to receive the authorization of the Romanian Securities Commission (CNVM), which according to sources, the management of the Stock Exchange hopes to have within the week. In fact, the BSE has already done the necessary preparations to ensure the operation of the ATS.

Stere Farmache, the chairman of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, explained why it took almost two years for the ATS project to be approved by the management of the BSE, during the first session of the new Board of Directors: "The alternative trading systems was one of the objectives of the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the technical work on it was completed long time ago, but the project needed to be revised, because of the need to serve as many companies as possible".

Mr. Farmache added: "This ATS will include unlisted companies, start-ups, as well as companies that don"t qualify for the regulated market. Of course, we will need to review all the criteria that companies will be required to meet. What matters is to submit the project to the CNVM and to get their answer".

Stere Farmache says that the launch of the alternative trading system will be beneficial to the Stock Exchange, as it will help more companies get acquainted with the notion of raising funding using the stock market: "The ATS could serve as a gateway into the stock market for companies that, once they get listed, will understand the benefits of being traded on the stock exchange. We shouldn"t expect spectacular results right away, and most certainly the ATS will not surpass the main tier of the Exchange", said the chairman of the BSE.

According to some sources, the implementation of the ATS project took two years due to the disagreement between the management of the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the Romanian Securities Commission (CNVM) on the statute of the Rasdaq market. It seems an agreement on this issue was reached on Tuesday. The press release distributed by the BSE after the meeting of the board states that the administrators of the BSE approved the final version of the project after the positive result of the talks they had with the officials of the CNVM.

In order to qualify for trading on the ATS, a company needs to be registered with the Central Depository and its articles of incorporation should not include any preemption clause, which could prevent it from being listed for trading.