OMX Stock Exchanges (OMX)

History of the OMX Stock Exchanges :

OMX history traces back to 1984 when the Helsinki Stock Exchange (HEX plc) was founded and trading was commenced in the following year. In 1998, HEX acquired the Stockholm Stock Exchange and throughout 2003-2004 the process of integration continued with the mergers of the Helsinki and Copenhagen Stock Exchanges.

OMX AB was formed in 2003 when HEX plc. and OM AB merged. Swedish OM and the Finnish Stock Exchange HEX merged then to form OMHEX, the largest securities market in Northern Europe. In 2004, the brand name of the company was changed to OMX.

As a result of the merger and privatization of Vilnius stock Exchange in Lithuania, all three Baltic stock Exchanges - Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius - became the part of the OMX Exchanges in 2004. The uniform trading system in the Joint Baltic market was adopted in May 2005. Today OMX operates around 80% of the Nordic and Baltic stock markets - the Stockholm Stock Exchange, Helsinki Stock Exchange, Copenhagen Stock Exchange, Tallinn Stock Exchange, Riga Stock Exchange, and Vilnius Stock Exchange.

The Stock Exchange has recently announced that the trading will be done in round lot sizes of one share from September 2006. Until then trading is done in round lot sizes that vary from listed company to company.

On October 2, 2006 the Nordic list will replace the current exchange list structures for Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. The new listing structure will be organized in three segments: Large Cap, Mid Cap for companies with a market capitalization of between EUR 150 M and EUR 1 billion, and Small Cap. Also the companies on the Nordic list will be organized by the industry sector. The Nordic list will enable Exchange members to execute trades in Copenhagen, Helsinki, and Stockholm with only one membership fee.