MICEX

MICEX - Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX)

About the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange :

The Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange Group (MICEX) is an independent close joint-stock company established and owned by major Russian commercial banks and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation from 1992. It is the group of organizations providing trading, settlement, clearing and depository services for Russian and foreign investors. The MICEX Group is comprised of the MICEX, the MICEX Stock Exchange, the National Mercantile Exchange, the MICEX Settlement House, the National Depositary Center, the National Clearing Center, and regional exchanges.

With the total annual trading of 926 billion US dollars, the MICEX is the largest exchange in the Russian Federation, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Eastern Europe. Having adopted the effective system of risk management, the MICEX Foreign Exchange Sector has achieved the total value of transactions amounting to 592 billion US dollars mainly trading in the Euro and the US dollar currencies.

The MICEX Stock Exchange (SE) lists securities of approximately 170 Russian issuers such as blue chips Gazprom, LUkoil, or Novatek. About 550 organizations with over 130 thousand registered investors trade on the MICEX SE. The Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange SE operated transactions of 226 million dollars value in 2005. The success of the MISEX SE operations is reflected in the MISEX Index that grew by even 83% in 2005.

Corporate bonds have recently become the main source for attracting investors in the MICEX. The MICEX SE trades corporate bonds of over 210 Russian companies. Over 126 companies placed their bonds on the MICEX SE just in 2005. Since 2003 the MICEX Corporate Bonds Index reflects the dynamics of the bonds market.

Trading on the MICEX is held electronically through the System of Electronic Trading (SELT). The core of MICEX's trading network is two computing centers that are linked with more than 2000 remote work stations, installed in banks and other financial institutions in Russia and abroad. About 70 percent of securities transactions in the MICEX are conducted through the Internet.

All foreign investors wishing to trade on the MICEX first have to receive the access to the GL NET network and register with one of Russian brokers that are also connected to the GL NET. So far, there are three Russian brokers having the access and about 3.5 thousand large foreign institutional investors trading on the MICEX.

MICEX - History of the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange

The early 1990s reforms in the market encouraged a group of leading Russian banks and the Bank of Russia to launch the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX). After a few days, the MICEX foreign exchange market started trading the US currency.

After a year, the MICEX government bonds market was opened, where over 270 authorized dealers trade government securities today. In 1996, the market of derivatives began trading the US Dollar and Euro futures. The MICEX is planning to launch in indexes and futures on stocks and bonds of Russia's leading companies in the near future.

In 1997, the MICEX started forming the market for securities. The MICEX Stock Market trading began in the bonds of the Republic of Tatarstan, Moscow Region and 'agribonds,' debt liabilities of the entities of the Russian Federation. From the very beginning the Stock Exchange has been developing significantly reaching the daily average turnover reached the sum of over 8.5 million dollars at the end on 1997.

In 1999, the market for corporate and regional bonds was established. Recently corporate bonds have become the main source of attracting investments for Russian companies. Today over 210 Russian companies and banks trade their corporate bonds on the MICEX. And finally, the money market was launched in 2004.