Stock Exchanges

The Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) operates based on the Law on Public Trading in Securities of August 21, 1997 (as amended), under the supervision of the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission (www.kpwig.gov.p)

Capital market traditions in Poland go back to 1817, when the Warsaw Mercantile Exchange was established. The Warsaw Stock Exchange began activity in its present form on April 16, 1991, starting from the very beginning with electronic paperless trading.

The WSE is a joint-stock company created by the State Treasury. Its capital amounts to PLN 41,979,000 split into 59,970 registered shares of PLN 700 each. Currently, the WSE has 38 shareholders, including brokerage houses, banks, a listed company and the State Treasury.

WSE mission

• Providing investors and issuers with a transparent, effective and liquid market concentrating trading in Polish securities
• Providing the highest quality service in trading organisation, exchange products and dissemination of information to meet investors' and issuers' needs
• Providing a mechanism for financing the development of the Polish economy.

The task of the WSE is to organise public securities trading. The Exchange provides a concentration of buy and sell offers in one place and at one time, which allows prices to be determined and transactions to be concluded.

The trading system used on the WSE is order-driven, which means that prices of securities are determined based on buy and sell orders. To set the price for a given security, a list of buy and sell orders is prepared. To improve the liquidity of listed securities, brokerage houses may perform the function of a market maker (animator), placing, based on the relevant agreement with the Exchange, buy and sell orders in the public order book.

• Warsaw Stock Exchange - About 47 KB
  The Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) operates based on the Act on Trading in Financial Instruments of July 29, 2005 under the supervision of the Polish Securities and Exchange CommissionThe task of the WSE is to organise trading in financial instruments. The Exchange provides a concentration of buy and sell offers in one place and at one time, which allows prices to be determined and transactions to be concluded.
• Warsaw Stock Exchange - Organizational structure 38 KB
  Shares in the WSE may be held by investment firms, banks, investment fund societies, pension funds, insurance companies and issuers of securities listed, as well as the State Treasury. Subject to approval by PSEC, shares may be hold by other domestic and foreign entities. At the end of 2005, the Exchange's shareholders included 38 entities. These were banks and brokerage firms, a listed company other than a bank, and the State Treasury. The State Treasury's stake was 98.81%.
• Warsaw Stock Exchange - History 52 KB
  The first stock exchange in Poland opened in Warsaw on May 12, 1817 as the Mercantile Exchange. The first trading session took place on May 16, 1817.In the 19th century, the Exchange traded primarily in bills of exchange and bonds. Equity trading developed on a larger scale in the second half of the 19th century.
• Warsaw Stock Exchange - International Status 51 KB
  The presence of the WSE in numerous international organisations serves as a confirmation of the high quality of both the organisational and legal standards applied by the Exchange. Since 1992, the Exchange has been cooperating with the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE).
• Warsaw Stock Exchange - Exchange Members 117 KB
  An Exchange member is an entity allowed to operate on the Exchange, and in particular to conduct transactions. The decision to give permission to operate on the WSE is made by the WSE Supervisory Board. Legal regulations introduced in 2005 expanded the list of entities entitled to seek membership of the Exchange.
• Warsaw Stock Exchange - Investors 54 KBб
  The Exchange carries out surveys of investor participation on an annual basis. Data gathered for 2005 show an increase in activity of all investor groups. As a result, turnover rose by 75% compared to the year 2004. The number of investment accounts in brokerage houses totalled 853,000 at the end of 2005. Compared to the end of 2004 the number was somewhat higher.
• Warsaw Stock Exchange - Issuers 47 KB
  In order to have its shares traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, a company must meet certain formal and legal requirements.Shares admitted to trading on the main market may be listed in the Plus segment. It encompasses shares of companies with large market capitalisation, high liquidity of trading and meeting higher standards regarding investor communication, corporate governance and transparency. For shares of companies listed on the parallel market which accept higher investor communication and corporate governance standards the Prim segment has been created.
• Warsaw Stock Exchange - Listed companies (end of 2005) 130 KB
• Warsaw Stock Exchange - Organization of trading 315 KB
  Since November 17, 2000, trading on the WSE has used the WARSET trading system. Similar systems are in use on a number of exchanges worldwide. The WARSET system is highly effective in accepting, processing and fulfilling orders. At the same time, it is reliable and safe, providing full automation of order transmission and transaction execution. WARSET allows effective access to trading for market participants, and offers numerous ways of taking advantage of realtime market information.
• Warsaw Stock Exchange - Equities 290 KB
  In total, 255 companies were listed on the Exchange at the end of 2005 – 242 on the main market, and 13 on the parallel market. Of these 240 companies were quoted in the continuous trading system, while the remaining 15 were traded in the single-price system with two auctions per day. Value of public offerings amounted to PLN 6.98 billion of which PLN 5.25 billion were raised by companies through capital increase.
• Warsaw Stock Exchange - Bonds 81 KB
  At the end of 2005 there were 76 issues of bonds listed on the Exchange, including 63 issues of Treasury bonds and 13 issues of corporate bonds, of which four were issued by a foreign bank. All bonds are quoted in the continuous trading system, the transaction unit being a single bond.
• Warsaw Stock Exchange - Derivatives Market 239 KB
  All derivatives are traded in the continuous trading system. Futures contracts, options and index participation units are traded from 9.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. As is the case with other securities quoted in the continuous system, an auction is held at the opening and closing of trading. Following the closing auction a ten-minute postauction trading phase takes place from 4.20 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.
• Warsaw Stock Exchange - Market Information 50 KB
  In recent years, Exchange data has become readily accessible, chiefly because of the increasing use of the Internet as a data distribution channel.