FTSE Russell added the Athens Stock Exchange to the Watch List for the next 12-18 months with the view to upgrading it to “Developed Market” from “Advanced Emerging.”
According to the rating agency, the stock market meets the following criteria:
– twenty-two quality criteria of the FTSE markets.
– minimum market capitalization and number of securities requirements
– Gross National Income (GNI) per capita rating ‘High’.
The classification in developed markets requires the decision of four rating agencies: FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange, MSCI of Morgan Stanley, S&P Dow Jones Indices, a subsidiary of S&P Global, and Eurostoxx, a subsidiary of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Hatzidakis: Excellent news
Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said that this development is excellent news, adding that “it is a result of the positive developments in the economy, the positive prospects that are opening up but also the specific successful moves of the government in the field of privatizations.”
He also referred to the “PPC share capital increase, the listing of the shares of the Athens International Airport El. Venizelos in the Athens Stock Exchange, the sale of Helleniq Energy shares. And above all – due to the size and special weight of the banks in the economy – the completion of the disinvestment of the HFSF from the systemic banks and also the developments in relation to the fifth banking pillar.”
In his statement, the minister stressed that “the Athens Stock Exchange is heading towards joining the world’s leading capital markets. And this creates conditions for additional funds into the country, improvement of financing conditions for listed companies, productive investments and new jobs.”
