OREANDA-NEWS. On July 16, 2007 a branch of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) started to operate in Gomel, reported the press-centre of Gomelinvest.

The Gomel branch will operate simultaneously with the Minsk central branch and the Brest branch. Sellers and buyers will be able to take part in the trade sessions in real-time mode in Minsk, Brest or Gomel. The trading floor occupies 360 square meters and it is equipped with 34 working stations. The first trade sessions in the new branch will be held in July.

Moreover, the premises for the Vitebsk and Mogilev branches have been already chosen. Today, the premise in Vitebsk is being renovated. It will occupy 700 square meters for 40 working stations. The BUCE Vitebsk branch is expected to open in October this year. As for the branch in Mogilev, a contest for the right to renovate the chosen premise is being held there now, the spokeswoman added.

Svetlana Remenchuk noted that the BUCE Brest branch designed for 34 working stations has operated since September 21, 2006. The BUCE central office in Minsk has three trading floors for 139 working stations.

In 2007-2008, BUCE will open its branches in all the oblasts of the country. They will be set up to boost the exchange goods market, to improve servicing and to reduce costs of participants of trade sessions. The branches will be united by the single communication network to allow the regional buyers and sellers to participate in the joint trade session conducted at the central trading floor in Minsk.

According to Svetlana Resenchuk, the electronic trading floors as well as the possibility to use exchange technologies will allow the local authorities to organize tenders, auctions, purchases of products on the base of the BUCE branches.

Open joint-stock company Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange was registered in May 2004 with a view to improving the state regulation of the domestic and overseas trade, developing an organized wholesale commodity market, providing an equal access of economic entities to the market and creating additional economic stimuli for them. The first auctions were held in June 2005. Today BUCE has three sections: metal products, agricultural products and timber products.