Ljubljana Stock Exchange

The Ljubljana stock exchange (LJSE) was established on December 26th 1989 whilst Slovenia was still a part of Yugoslavia. The move required two new federal laws to be enacted and marked a major turning point for the centrally-planned economy. Indeed, the LJSE was the first stock exchange to be established in any socialist country. Within two years, Slovenia had declared its independence from Yugoslavia. When it was established, the exchange was owned by its members who numbered 24 in 2006. The official trading hours are 09:30 to 13:00

Acquisition of LJSE by the Vienna Stock Exchange
The LJSE was purchased by the Vienna Stock exchange in June 2008 when they acquired 81% of the company. They have expressed an interest in acquiring the remaining shares. The acquisition should lead to an expansion in the volume of business that LJSE handles and improvements in liquidity and the range of products offered is foreseen. Currently, 88 companies are listed on LJSE. The market value of LJSE was evaluated on 30 June 2008 as 22 897 million US$ and the share turn-over for the year (at that date) was 1 545 million US$. Some people regard LJSE as one of the world’s most lucrative stock exchanges, but this is clearly a subjective view.

Financial Instruments Traded and Indices
LJSE principally trades in ordinary and preferred shares; both open ended (no date at which the investment must be redeemed) and closed-end investment funds (having a fixed lifetime); Treasury bills (T-bills), corporate, municipal and government bonds. The principle LJSE market indices are: Investment Fund Index (PIX); Bonds Index (BIO): Slovene Stock Exchange Index (SBI 20) and Slovene Blue Chip Index (SBI TOP).

The LJSE can be found at Slovenska 56, in the centre of the city. It has a website that provides financial information in English, together with some general information (http://www.ljse.si/).