YEREVAN, December 18. / ARKA /. In the first half of 2013 NASDAQ OMX Armenia stock exchange is very likely to establish correspondent relationships with international depositories, NASDAQ OMX Armenia Director Konstantin Saroyan, said in an interview with ARKA news agency. According to him, it will allow Armenian investors to buy securities of foreign companies and vice versa.

He said there is now a formal mechanism to allow such transactions, but from the viewpoint of foreign investors it is absolutely unsuitable because it demands opening of an account in the Central Depository or sub-depositaries that is even more difficult or in the banks, which does not make the situation easier.

Saroyan explained that the procedure for account opening for institutional investors is very hard as it requires an assessment of investment risks, the asset to invest in, a comprehensive study of the company and its financial condition and so on.

"Therefore, we are now discussing with the international depositories a new scheme, and, presumably, in the first half of next year, the process of establishing correspondent relations will be completed," he said.

NASDAQ OMX Armenia is the name of the Armenian Stock Exchange ojsc (renamed on January 27, 2009), however, it is also used to refer jointly to the stock exchange and the Central Depository of Armenia (CDA), as the both companies have been members of the NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. since early 2008. NASDAQ OMX Armenia and the CDA are the major securities market infrastructure institutions in Armenia. Since their inception in 2000, both companies had operated as self-regulatory organizations established by member broker companies, up until demutualization in 2007. NASDAQ OMX Armenia is a part of the world's largest exchange company, the NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. -0-