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Interessantes hatte auch die Berliner Börse zu vermelden. Zum Schutze der hiesigen Anleger wird es kein Delisting von OTC BB bzw. chinesischen Werten geben, die ohne ausdrückliche Zustimmung der Unternehmen, gelistet sind. Ohnehin ist dies kein Problem zumindest bei den OTC BB Werten. Die deutschen WKN lassen sich zumindest über E-Trade jederzeit über das Bulletin Board verkaufen. Information for all public listed companies also traded in Germany on the “third market” Over the past few months in the USA much misleading information, and to some extent even disinformation, has been spread to companies which are listed on the bulletin board and whose stocks are also traded in Germany, among others by our company. Thereby, the impression given by several sources is that trading in bulletin board securities in Germany is a way of circumventing the American regulations on so-called naked-short-selling and that illegal short selling is taking place in Germany. From letters we have received from worried companies asking to be delisted, we gather that obviously no factual information on trading in foreign securities in Germany is available to American business establishments. At this point, therefore, we feel it is high time we provide these companies with basic information on trading and market regulations in Germany. In former decades, when compared internationally, German investors invested only a small percent of their assets in stocks. One reason is that in Germany there are no brokerage companies where clients can keep a securities account. Only so-called universal banks are authorised to handle account deposits or run private investment accounts and they naturally prefer to sell their own products such as funds, etc. to customers. Another reason is that there were not enough young, fast-growing companies listed on the stock exchange in Germany and trading was limited largely to blue chips and a few hundred middle-sized listed companies. In Germany, the prevalent legal form of smaller companies is still the GmbH (limited company), for which shares are not tradeable. Around the middle of the eighties, however, a new generation of risk-loving investors increasingly focussed their attention on international companies from all over the world which, of course, were predominantly listed on the booming electronic exchange NASDAQ. In order to afford the German investor the cost effective purchase of interesting stocks, particularly in technology, such stocks were increasingly traded on German stock exchanges in the third segment (so-called unofficial) market. The advantage for the German investor being that a more favourable purchase in DM, or today in €, was possible at anytime during German trading hours. So-called market specialists like us act as a sponsor and regulate the market, taking into consideration the particular domestic market and the exchange rates. This type of trading was and still is very successful in Germany. So much so that, when compared internationally, German investors have a relatively high proportion of stocks from all over the world in their portfolio. Meanwhile, as the trade of German listed stocks takes place to a large extent via a central order book driven trading platform called XETRA, several regional stock exchanges in Germany concentrate their trading in foreign stocks. In competition for this market niche there are six regional stock exchanges including the one in Frankfurt. Together, these exchanges operate an order routing system called XONTRO in which, for each stock exchange and each individual stock, the electronic orderbook is assigned exclusively to one specialist. Every specialist firm accredited to a stock exchange can, at any time, make an application to trade in an international class of securities, as long as the stocks are listed on a recognised and regulated exchange. According to the rules of all German stock exchanges the permission of the respective company is not necessary. After all, this is not about the listing of companies involving any costs or obligations to report. In the meantime, more than 10,000 public companies from all over the world are traded in Germany, including, of course, all stocks listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ. Here, not only the different regional stock exchanges are in competition with each other but also various specialist companies such as the Berliner Freiverkehr (Aktien) AG, because, as already explained, only one company per stock exchange can run the electronic order book. The specialist receives a small commission for each order and otherwise tries to realise a profit from the spread between bid and ask, just like the market makers on NASDAQ. Compared with the respective domestic market the profits gained from German retail investors are relatively small. Nevertheless, on various occasions, through appropriate investor relations work, companies have been able to considerably broaden their shareholder structure in Germany. German investors are very keen on participating in the success of up-and-coming firms and are aware of the risks involved. Of late, due to insufficient or false information, we are frequently being asked to effect what is commonly known as a delisting in Germany. Unfortunately, as a rule, we cannot comply with this request. All companies, whose stocks are already sitting in securities accounts of German investors, already have a German security identification number and are mostly traded on several stock exchanges. This is comparable with the third market trading on NASDAQ, for example in NYSE shares or in different ECNs. The German regional exchanges do not want to cease trading because naturally, in the first instance, they have to observe the interests of the German investors. It would certainly be difficult for a German investor to comprehend why the shares that he purchased in Germany can no longer be sold there. Such a measure would also be potentially just as damaging to several companies because they are not aware of how many German investors they actually have. The fact that in the spring of this year our company applied for ca. 800 new securities from the bulletin board to be newly traded in Germany is based solely on our wish to expand the business we have been pursuing for the last 20 years. We are convinced that among these companies lie the winners of tomorrow. At the time when we began to trade in stocks of Microsoft, or later those of Yahoo, no-one could have foreseen the subsequent success. In Germany, our price quoting takes place electronically and it does not make any difference to our system whether we trade 7,000 or 8,000 securities. Thus, in the autumn of last year we started trading about 800 Chinese stocks from the Hong Kong stock exchange in Germany. Trading in Germany is extremely well regulated and monitored. No bank in Germany would allow its clients to short sell. Every single trade is reported online to BAFIN (the German SEC) and can be retraced. As far as German investors buy stocks, we immediately establish the order book balancing with the domestic market. The share delivery must take place t + 2. If delivery does not happen, the seller in the USA is faced with a buy in. If, at any point, short selling should occur, then it takes place in the USA and is subject to the market supervision there. Trading in Germany neither initiates nor allows short selling. Our company has been in the business for 20 years and belongs to the largest and most successful market specialists in Germany. In all those years we have received not one single complaint and we have brought numerous companies to a successful market debut in Germany. Last year’s initiative to establish a NASDAQ Germany was based on our contacts. Unfortunately the project was not successful. Recently, officials from the NASD and SEC held informative meetings with the German BAFIN and the Berlin Stock Exchange and were satisfied that illegal short selling is not possible in Germany. We have no idea what motivates individual journalists to create the impression on the internet that we wish to cause harm to American companies and strongly refute such allegations. Several companies from the bulletin board, for which we have already made an application to trade in Germany but which have not yet had one single trade, have, after consultation with the Berlin Stock Exchange, been withdrawn from the trading system for the time being. However, these companies should be aware of the fact that as soon as there is a demand for their shares in Germany, trading will certainly be restarted by several specialists on different exchanges without any need for their permission. “Delisting” foreign companies whose shares have for a long time been traded in Germany, in some cases on more than one exchange, and where trading volume has already occurred with German investors, is not in the interest of the stock exchanges, market specialists or German investors and definitely not in the interest of the company itself. Therefore it will not be happening. Do not be misled by dubious business people or self appointed lawyers and do not waste your money on them. If your company is successful you, too, will be able to improve your capital base through the demand of German investors. These are investors who, by just being listed on the bulletin board, you would otherwise not have access to. If your company is not successful, of course no noteworthy trading volume is to be expected in Germany. Whatever your situation, you have no need to fear damages resulting from short selling in Germany. Professional short sellers do not use trading in Germany and there is no contact between our company and such firms or hedge funds. If your company has been affected by illegal activities, please contact your local supervisory body and put an end to this practice. Holger Timm CEO Berliner Freiverkehr (Aktien) AG |
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| aus der Diskussion: | Shelron hochinteressant |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | k73p0 (31.08.04 10:37:52) |
| Beitrag: | 166 von 4,476 (ID:14177558) |
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