March 13 (SeeNews) - The Bulgarian Stock Exchange [BUL:BSE] said it has revised the composition of its blue-chip index SOFIX increasing its member companies to 16 from 15, with revisions also made to the broader BGBX40 and the BGTR30 indices.
The Sofia bourse operator will be the newest member of the SOFIX index, 12 years after becoming publicly traded, Bulgarian Stock Exchange said in a press release on Friday. All changes will take effect on March 20.
The three other stocks to become SOFIX constituents are battery maker Monbat [BUL:MONB], Sopharma Trading [BUL:SFT] and poultry producer Gradus [BUL:GR6].
The issues that will be excluded from the SOFIX are financial leasing company Elana Agrocredit [BUL:EAC], machinery engineering business M+S Hydraulic [BUL:MSH], software developer Sirma Group Holding [BUL:SGH] and IT firm Telelink Business Services Grou[ [BUL:TBS].
The benchmark index of the Sofia bourse has until now been composed of 15 members, with a new addition implying the exclusion of a previous constituent.
"[...] it appeared that the total weight of the ranked issues belonging to the same economic group, namely Sopharma AD and Sopharma Trading AD, does not exceed 20% threshold as of 01 March 2023, so it is not necessary to exclude one of the issues from the ranking," the bourse operator said. BSE added that Gradus and TBS Group were at the same place in the ranking with 61 points, but priority was given to the issue with the higher market value of the free-float, namely Gradus.
The transfer of BSE's shares to the benchmark segment of the exchange comes as its shares have gained liquidity in the past three years, with transactions rising more than fivefold and turnover - around three times, the BSE noted. "The established dividend policy and the increasing dividends distributed during this period led to the growth of BSE shareholders by more than 75%, respectively the company's market capitalisation by more than 80%," the bourse operator also said.
As part of the revision of the broader BGBX40 index, Industrial Capital Holding [BUL:HIKA], Rodna Zemya Holding [BUL:HRZ], NGAZ Oil and Gas Exploration and Production [BUL:NGAZ] and Trace Group Hold [BUL:T57] will quit the index. In their stead, the BSE is adding to the BGBX40 index Bulgarian River Shipping [BUL:BRP], Elhim Iskra [BUL:ELHM], Synergon Holding [BUL:SNRG], Fazerles [BUL:FZLS] and [Balkan and Sea Properties [BUL:BSP].
Central Cooperative Bank [BUL:CCB], commercial property lessor Himsnab [BUL:CHSB], Industrial Holding Bulgaria and Telelink Business Services Group will be removed from the BGTR30 index, which tracks companies with a free float of at least 10% which have equal weight. Their places will be taken by Gradus, Sila Holding [BUL:HSI], Capital Management SPV [BUL:CAPM] and Albena [BUL:ALB].
No changes will be made to the composition of the BGREIT index, which tracks seven real estate investment trusts.
The stock exchange operator decides twice a year, in March and September, on changes in the composition of the Sofia bourse indices.