YEREVAN, August 14 . /ARKA/. ‘The deal that involves a strong European player is a positive factor, ‘Igor Klyushnev, supervising manager for Armenia, said in an interview with ARKA news agency when asked to comment on acquisition of the majority stake in Armenia’s Secyurity Exchange 9AMX) by the Warsaw Stock Exchange..

He said the deal  is also important in terms of raising the status of the Armenian Securities Exchange, Armenia’s stock market in general, introducing advanced technological solutions, although in terms of technologies the Armenian Securities Exchange stands out from others in the region due to the participation of Nasdaq in its development.

He said the main obstacle is that attracting non-residents is a rather complicated and long process. First of all, those that invest abroad are professional investment companies and funds that have investment limits. But, of course, they are interested in liquidity, and if there is no high liquidity on the country's exchange market, the limits allocated to them will not be high, respectively, their influence on the market and trading volume will not be very significant.

‘In such cases, as I see it, we just need to be patient. Some changes in the regulation of the securities exchange and the stock market in general may occur not under the influence of the Central Bank, but at the initiative of the exchange itself, which will strive to meet European and world standards,’ Klyushvev said

On May 24, 2022, the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia approved the purchase of AMX by the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WFB). On June 28 of the same year, Armenian Central Bank Chairman Martin Galstyan and WFB Board Chairman Marek Dietl signed an agreement on sale of controlling stake in AMX.

WFB acquired 65.03% of AMX (967 shares), the Central Bank of Armenia holds 25.02% and the remaining 9.95% are AMX's own shares. The cost of the deal is about AMD 873 million (about $2.2 million). -0-