OREANDA-NEWS. On 29 April 2008 the MICEX, which integrates trading and settlement systems for Russia’s financial markets, announced that all the resolutions proposed at its Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) on April 24 were approved by the MICEX’s shareholders.

At the meeting, MICEX President Alexander Potemkin reported that the MICEX Group’s trading volumes had doubled during the year, and its position as the largest stock exchange in Russia, the CIS, Central and Eastern Europe had strengthened further. As a result of the increased volumes of exchange-based trading, MICEX has joined the ranks of the world’s top 20 stock exchanges, ranking 17th.

Commenting on this improvement, Mr. Potemkin said: “Having achieved this major step in our development, we will now focus on the implementation of new technologies, innovation and ensuring the most favourable conditions for further improvement of the Exchange’s infrastructure. We continue to view the development of the Exchange is as one of the critical elements in developing Russia as an international financial centre.”
 
MICEX Chairman Konstantin Korischenko said: “Consolidation of world exchanges is accelerating, and Russia’s national priority should be turning the MICEX into a competitive exchange which will accelerate the creation of an international financial centre in Russia.”

Review and approval of MICEX’s financial performance for 2007
At the AGM, shareholders reviewed and approved the report on the MICEX’s financial and economic activities during the financial year.

Key highlights of the MICEX’s performance in 2007:
• Revenues up by 40% on 2006 to RUR 6.4 billion (US\\$ 270 million)
• Net profit up 33% to RUR 2.5 billion (US\\$ 110 million)
• Dividend of RUR 245.8 million (US\\$ 10.4 million)
• Contribution to Regulatory reserves of RUR 28.9 million (US\\$ 1.2 million)
• Contribution to the Fund for Reinvestment in Business of RUR 2.18 billion (US\\$ 89.7 million)
Note: MICEX financial statements were prepared under Russian accounting standards. 

Operational highlights:
• Total MICEX Group trading volume more than doubled in the year and amounted to RUR 107 trillion (US\\$ 4.2 trillion)
• Daily average trading volume reached RUR 431 billion (US\\$ 17 billion)
• The volume of exchange-based currency trading was up 50% to RUR 38 trillion (US\\$ 1.5 trillion)
• The volume of trading in government and the money market securities was 4.8 times the level of the previous year, and amounted to RUR 23.2 trillion (US\\$ 922 billion)
• MICEX Stock Exchange was one of the most dynamic markets in the MICEX Group during the year, with trading volume doubling to RUR 43.5 trillion (US\\$ 1.7 trillion)
• The MICEX Group’s share of trading volume on all Russian exchanges grew to 99% from 95% last year.  The Group now hosts 71% of exchange-based trading in Russian securities globally, up from 69% in 2006.

Significant events during the year:
• Launch of a new model for trading in the MICEX currency exchange market, which involves the National Clearing Center as a central counterparty. The NCC was established by the MICEX and the National Depository Centre
• Launch of the Sector for Innovation and Growth Companies on the MICEX Stock Exchange
• "People’s" IPO’s by Sberbank and VTB Bank
• Introduction of new indices within the MICEX family of indices
• Doubling of the number of individual investors trading on the MICEX Stock Exchange
• Launch of trading in stock derivatives (futures on the MICEX Index)
• Expansion of the repo market
• Development of the MICEX regional exchange network, with the opening of regional exchange centres: " MICEX-South", "MICEX-Far East", "MICEX-Volga Region" and "MICEX-Urals");
• The MICEX became an affiliated member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and signed agreements of cooperation with leading Asian exchanges.

Speaking of the MICEX Group’s plans for 2008, MICEX President Alexander Potemkin emphasized the following priority projects:

• Further development of the exchange-based stock market, including the expansion of the range of instruments available on the foreign exchange market
• Creation of markets for exchange bonds and Russian Depository Receipts (RDRs)
• Creation of MICEX DISCOVERY segment for companies not listed but whose securities can be traded on the MICEX Stock Exchange
• Development and launch of new products for investment funds, similar to ETFs
• Launch of a new model for repo trading in the MICEX government securities market, which involves the National Clearing Center acting as a central counterparty
• Launch of new derivative instruments on equity assets, delivery futures on medium- and long-term federal bonds and certain stocks, and options on futures contracts, including futures on the MICEX Index
• Development of the market for delivery futures on wheat
• Participation in the creation of an international oil exchange in Russia
• Organization of the exchange-based market for inter-bank loans (IBL) within the money market. In the IBL market, the MICEX will provide market participants with an electronic platform for concluding IBL transactions and receiving attendant services (for example preparation of reports)
• Further refinement of the risk management system for the derivatives market
• Within the framework of the project "Development of technologies of trading and clearing in the stock market", creation of conditions for the eventual modification of the 100% pre-deposit of funds rule for trading on the MICEX Stock Exchange in the framework of the T+3 project.
 

Re-election of MICEX President
The AGM reappointed Alexander Potemkin as the President of the MICEX, and the Board of Directors re-elected Konstantin Korischenko (Bank of Russia) as the Chairman of the Board.

Appointments to the Board of Directors
Shareholders have approved the new Board of Directors which will be in place until the next AGM. The new members of the Board include:
• Ivan Bolshakov (First Vice-President and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Evrofinance Mosnarbank)
• Andrei Golikov (Director of the Treasury and member of the Board of Sberbank),
• Yuri Denisov (Vice President and Chief of Treasury of the Financial Department of VTB Bank)
• Nadezhda Ivanova (Director of the Bank of Russia’s Combined Economic Department)
• Vladimir Karmashev (Director of the Bank of Russia’s Department for Supervision and Control of Operations in Financial Markets)
• Konstantin Korischenko (Vice-Chairman of the Bank of Russia)
• Sergei Koshelenko (Deputy Chairman of the Board of Rosbank)
• Sergey Lykov (Member of the Board and Vice-Chairman of Vnesheconombank)
• Alexander Potemkin (President of the MICEX)
• Vladimir Reutov (Deputy Chairman of the Board of Bank St. Petersburg)
• Alexander Sobol (Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprombank)
• Sergei Shvetsov (Director of the Bank of Russia’s Department for Operations in Financial Markets)
• Kirill Shershun (First Deputy Chairman of the Board of CenterCredit Bank)
• Andrei Yumatov (Member of the Board of UniCredit Bank).

Appointment of auditors
The AGM has appointed Deloitte & Touche CIS as the MICEX’s auditor for the next financial year.

Election of Audit Committee
The following members were elected to the MICEX Audit Committee:
• Dmitri Kamenskikh (Head of Gazprombank’s Department for Equity Capital and Corporate Long-Term Investments)
• Nina Pankratova (First Deputy Head of Moscow Chief Territorial Administration of the RF CB)
• Alexey Polak (Deputy Head of Department of the Internal Control Division of VTB Bank)
• Tatyana Sannikova (Deputy Director of the Bank of Russia’s Department for Supervision and Control of Operations in Financial Markets),
• Vyacheslav Ulupov (Director of the Department for Internal Control and Audit of Vnesheconombank)
• Oleg Chistyakov (Deputy Director of the Department for Internal Controls and Audit of Sberbank).