After months of negotiations, the board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange has decided not to merge with the Vienna Stock Exchange, according to Paweł Tamborski, CEO of WSE. The deal would have made WSE a part of the Vienna-led CEE Stock Exchange Group, which includes the Prague, Budapest and Ljubljana stock markets. “Our main goal at the moment is to focus on the local capital market, in an effort to increase its potential,” Tamborski said. “WSE is now at a turning point, following the departure of Poland’s open pension funds from the market. Our key goal now is to regain our top position for stock investors in the region,” he added.
The news came as an unwelcome surprise to market analysts, who point out that the step will likely slow the market down. “All the spectacular privatizations are coming to an end, and the country’s GDP growth forecasts aren’t as optimistic, which suggest that shifting mainly into domestic capital may not provide sufficient liquidity,” said Marcin Kiepas from the Admiral Markets brokerage office.
