Oslo Børs to launch small cap exchange

The principal intention is to offer a regulated market place for companies that do not meet the requirements for a normal stock exchange listing. Oslo Børs plans to launch the new marketplace early in 2007.

Many participants in the securities market would like to see a regulated market for share trading in Norway in addition to the established stock exchange market. This includes companies that do not meet the requirements for any normal stock exchange listing such as the rules on the minimum distribution of a company's share ownership and the requirement to have been in business for three years.

In addition, feedback from investors has confirmed that they would like to see a marketplace for shares in such companies that is more regulated than the current un-listed market. Oslo Børs has therefore placed particular emphasis on ensuring the same level of investor protection as currently applies in the normal stock exchange market, and this reflects the overwhelming majority of the views expressed by the market participants with whom Oslo Børs has discussed these plans.

Oslo Børs plans to structure the new authorised marketplace to offer more relaxed requirements for admission to listing than currently apply to the normal stock exchange market, but to otherwise use the same solutions as currently apply for the normal Oslo market with just a few specific exemptions. This means that the new marketplace will, for example, use the same trading system, the same member rules and trading rules and the same rules on the continuing responsibilities of issuers, as well as using the same company message system and market surveillance system. However, Oslo Børs intends to ensure that the normal stock exchange market and the new marketplace are clearly differentiated, and this will include separate web sites and different visual profiles.

Oslo Børs has not yet decided on a name for the new marketplace.