History of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange
Ljubljana Stock Exchange is the only financial institution of its kind in Slovenia. It was founded in 1924 as an alternative to the country’s other stock exchange, the Zagreb Stock Exchange.
The history of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange began in 1922 when entrepreneurs decided to establish a stock exchange in Ljubljana. After obtaining the necessary permissions from the state authorities, the exchange started operations in 1924. At first it specialised exclusively in trading in securities and commodities. After 3 years, it began trading in foreign currencies. Even then, investors could still buy shares in companies in Slovenia today.
The exchange was practically non-operational during the Second World War and soon ceased to exist.
A new stage of development
The modern history of the stock exchange began in 1989. Almost 50 years after its closure, it resumed its activities as the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. Since then, the LJSE has been actively developing:
– in 1993, it introduced the BIS electronic trading system;
– in 1995, the exchange switched to electronic trading;
– a year later, the first dematerialised shares of Kolinske were on the stock exchange.
A clearing centre has been in place to regulate this type of security. In 1999, the regulator passed a law requiring all issuers to issue dematerialised shares.
The stock exchange launched its first index in 2000. The SBI 20 index comprises the securities of the 20 largest companies in Slovenia. The country’s accession to the European Union gave a new impetus to the development of the stock market. This period coincided with the mass privatisation boom, significantly increasing business activity. In 2006, the platform recorded record turnover, and the SBI TOP index reached an all-time high.
In 2015, the Ljubljana Stock Exchange changed ownership and became the Zagreb Stock Exchange. Around the same time, the market joined the regional trading platform, SEE Link. The presence in the system opened up new opportunities:
– the market gained new participants;
– the platform improved the management of trading processes;
– the multilateral electronic system SI ENTER market became available to the participants.
The SI ENTER market enables the trading of unlisted shares. This system has some advantages over the OTC market. For example, it offers traders a favourable exchange rate.
Ljubljana Stock Exchange offers good cooperation conditions for new companies. The Funderbeam SEE funding platform is available for projects in the early stages of development. The platform also issues shares for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Since 2018, the operator has partnered with the Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative. Within this framework, the Ljubljana platform:
– finances environmental projects;
– creates a green bond market;
– supports socially significant initiatives.
The Slovenian market creates comfortable conditions for traders and attracts new issuers.
