THE SELECTION OF THE INTERMEDIARY OF THE SELF LISTING OF THE BUCHAREST STOCK EXCHANGE HAS BEGUN The self-listing of the BSE is off to a false start

• The tender book is not ready even though a press release said it was available for purchase by brokers

The Bucharest Stock Exchange yesterday announced that it has begun the contest for the intermediation of its self-listing, inviting brokers to buy its tender book, by April 8th.

However, to the surprise of those who wanted to buy the document yesterday, it wasn"t ready.

When asked by one of our journalists whether he was interested to intermediate the self-listing of the BSE, Cristian Sima, the chairman of brokerage firm "WBS Romania", said yesterday: "Anca Bunea, the general manager of WBS, wanted to buy the tender book, but Anca Dumitru, the general manager of the Stock Exchange, said that the document would be ready two days from now".

According to a press release by the BSE, on Tuesday its Board of Directors approved the tender book for the appointment of the intermediary that will handle the listing of the BSE on its own platform. The intermediation contract will be awarded based on "the most advantageous bid from a technical and economic point of view".

The tender book will be available for purchase, once it is ready, for a price of 500 lei.

The management of the BSE has decreed that the listing of its own stock must be done within 90 days from the awarding of the intermediation contract.

Tenders are accepted from individual bidders or from bidders acting in concert. Bidders must be registered with the Romanian Securities Commission (CNVM), and must be licensed to provide all the regulated financial investment services specified in the legislation concerning equity markets, and they must be participants in the trading system of the BSE.

Brokerage firms which have representatives on the Board of Directors of the Exchange will not be allowed to submit bids.