PAP/ The purchase of 65.3% of the shares of the Armenia Securities Exchange (AMX) by the Warsaw Stock
Exchange (GPW) opens a new chapter in economic relations between Poland and the Caucasus. For Polish companies and investors, it is not only an opportunity to develop businesses in resource-rich and strategically located Armenia, but also a chance to expand into other Eurasian markets.
On 16 April 1991, that is, the day of the Warsaw Stock Exchange’s first trading session, no one really could have predicted that three decades later GPW would not only become the undisputed leader in the region, but also take control of trading floors in other countries. Meanwhile, the Warsaw Stock Exchange, now already twice the size of Vienna’s and eight times the size of Bucharest’s, successfully completed the purchase of a majority stake in the Armenia Securities Exchange (AMX) last year. The total price of the
transaction by the GPW amounted to PLN 9.6 million.
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“It took about 27 years for the Polish capital market to reach a status similar to that of Israel or South Korea, although these countries have been building capacity for more than half a century. This impresses many smaller countries that want to repeat our success and benefit from the Polish experience,” explains Marek Dietl, President of the Management Board of GPW.
The Poles have the right know-how on how to build from scratch a thriving stock market that attracts both domestic and foreign investors. Unlike Western countries that escaped the cataclysm of the double occupation and the tragedy of communism, we still have a kind of ‘institutional memory’ from the transformation period and there are many experts who were co-authors of its success. This is what determined the selection of the GPW by the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) as a strategic partner.
On 6 March 2023, the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders was held. At this meeting, a new AMX Supervisory Board was appointed with a number of members mutually agreed upon by the GPW and the CBA. Its members included Grzegorz Kucharski, who had worked at the Warsaw Stock Exchange for 27 years.
“Until now, the Armenian economy has not been at the center of attention of foreign investors, mainly due to limited contacts with Western markets, financial markets in particular. The cooperation with the Warsaw Stock Exchange is a kind of “window to the world” for us and already after these first months
we see the positive effects of this integration in the form of an inflow of valuable capital,” notes Hayk Yeganyan, President of the Management Board of the Armenia Securities Exchange.
Armenia is a country of 3 million people with a significantly lower GDP than Poland. Nevertheless, the Warsaw Stock Exchange has appreciated the pace of economic reforms carried out in this Caucasian country.
“The Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance have implemented a number of European regulations that today place Armenia among the top 20 of the world’s most friendly and economically liberal countries.
The Armenian capital market ecosystem itself consists of very interesting issuers, operating in such
sectors as food processing and broadly defined IT, and about 40 Armenian companies may soon make their debut not only in Yerevan, but simultaneously on the GPW,”explains Marek Dietl.
By entering Armenia, the Warsaw Stock Exchange is paving the way to a new Eurasian region of the world. This is because the country spreads to many markets, both near and far. It is in Yerevan where the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges has its headquarters and where the representatives of other stock exchanges – Greek, Egyptian or Georgian – constantly meet.
“This cooperation provides an opportunity to commercialize our technologies and solutions, as well as to operate real-time stock exchange sessions in this region of the globe,” admits the President of the Management Board of GPW.
The purchase of a majority stake in AMX by the Warsaw Stock Exchange is also excellent news for Polish entrepreneurs – previously somewhat exotic market is becoming more recognizable and predictable for them. Armenia has significant resources of raw materials (gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc), is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union and has a partnership agreement with the European Union. Exports and imports between Poland and Armenia are estimated today at, respectively: PLN 151 million and PLN 64 million, but these values may increase significantly in the near future. The first effects of integration can already be seen, as the exposure not only in terms of the capital market, but the economy in general, is much greater and meets with increasing interest from Polish partners. This also applies to foreign entities, for whom the GPW is already a trusted enough brand to encourage business in Armenia.
“Joining a strong GPW group is a huge opportunity for Polish and Armenian entrepreneurs, but Armenia is only the beginning. We are seriously thinking about joint activities in other countries of the region and promoting our companies on foreign markets,” emphasizes Hayk Yeganyan.
News source: PAP MediaRoom
Hayk Yeganyan, President of the Management Board of the Armenia Securities Exchange.