Atlantica - 01.11.2002, Qupperneq 39

A T L A N T I C A 37
Despite its young age, Iceland Stock
Exchange (ICEX) has developed into a
well-established, technologically ad-
vanced market with a legal framework in
accordance with other European mar-
kets. What sets ICEX apart from the rest
of Europe these days is the upward
trend in prices and turnover while other
markets have faced a prolonged decline.
The Icelandic benchmark index, ICEX-15,
has gained about 13% while the
Swedish OMX has gone down by 40%
and KFX in Copenhagen, OSE in Oslo
and FTSE 100 in London have decreased
by approx. 20%.
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
There are 65 companies listed on
ICEX. There are approximately 400
fixed-income instruments listed, includ-
ing Treasury bills and bonds, housing
and house bonds. ICEX is a member of
the NOREX Alliance along with the
exchanges in Copenhagen, Oslo and
Stockholm. ICEX adopted the advanced
SAXESS trading system, used by the
NOREX exchanges, in October 2000.
Membership requirements are based on
EU directives and members are 19,
including three NOREX cross-members.
Reuters, Bloomberg, Thomson
Financial and FT Interactive are the inter-
national distributors of market informa-
tion already co-operating with ICEX. The
Exchange itself distributes company
announcements requested by disclosure
regulations.
INVESTOR CULTURE
In spite of the fact that the Icelandic
market is very young, investor culture
has rooted in the Icelandic population
providing the foundation for a fast-grow-
ing market. It was not until the late ‘90s
that individuals really began to invest in
shares. This came hand in hand with the
privatisation of state-owned companies.
Since then, the ownership structure of
the largest ICEX listed companies has
changed. Recent data show that the
largest shareholders are individuals,
companies (other than financial institu-
tions) and foreign investors. Each of
these three groups own one fifth of the
total. Pension funds are next, with a
Area 103,000 square kilometres / 40,000
square miles
Population: 287 thousand
Population density per square kilometre:
2.8
Iceland is the least populated country in
Europe and the seventh least populated
in the world.
Iceland Stock Exchange is Moving Up
NEWSICELAND BUSINESS
Facts & Figures
Economic Indicators for 2002
Gross Domestic Product per capita: USD
27,138
Economic growth: 2.4%
Inflation: 5.2%
Annual average unemployment: 2.3%
Exports and imports
by country
Most important trade partners 2001
%
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Exports Imports
Ja
p
an
G
er
m
an
y
U
K
D
en
m
ar
k
N
et
h
er
la
n
d
s
N
o
rw
ay
U
SA
share of just under 15%. The proportions
of shares owned by individuals and by
the public sector in Iceland are close to
the European averages, with individuals
owning slightly more than average and
the public sector slightly less. In com-
parison with European exchanges, for-
eign ownership on the Icelandic market
is still relatively low, although it has
increased rapidly from next to nothing in
the mid ‘90s.
Easy access, a developed market
place, and price development that
shows little correlation with foreign mar-
kets make the Icelandic market ripe for
further foreign participation.
ICEX-15* Index from January to September 2002 *The Main stock index of the Icelandic Stock Exchange includes
15 companies listed on the Main list.
ICEX-15*
Index from January-September 2002
1.350,00
1.300,00
1.250,00
1.200,00
1.150,00
1.000,00
1.050,00
3.1
.02
12
.2.
02
24
.3.
02
13
.4.
02
3.5
.02
23
.5.
02
12
.6.
02
2.7
.02
22
.7.
02
11
.8.
02
31
.8.
02
20
.9.
02
4.3
.02
23
.1.
02
*The Main stock index of the Icelandic Stock Exchange includes 15 companies listed on the Main list.
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