Zagreb Bourse CEO Says Balkan Stock Markets Should Consolidate - Bloomberg

“All these small exchanges have a future, either together as one or together as part of a bigger group,” Motusic said in a recent interview for Bloomberg (www.bloomberg.com). "It’s when, not if it will happen."

The Ljubljana Stock Exchange in Slovenia, the only country from the former Yugoslavia that has joined the 27-nation European Union, became part of CEE Stock Exchange Group last month after being bought by Austria’s Wiener Boerse AG in 2008.

The Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Vienna exchange, Michael Buhl, has said it wants to further extend its reach in the region, according to Bloomberg. 

The Vienna exchange also controls the Prague and Budapest bourses.

Wiener Boerse had held talks to acquire the Zagreb bourse as well as the Belgrade Stock Exchange. The Croatian Stock Exchange, the largest among bourses in countries that emerged from former Yugoslavia, may also acquire other markets in the region, Motusic was quoted as telling Bloomberg.

The bourses in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia are owned by local banks and brokerages with only the Belgrade stock market having a 10% stake owned by the state, Bloomberg said.

“The value of our companies will rise when we are part of EU, because of lower risk perception and greater turnover,” Motusic said.

Croatia is expected to be granted EU membership over the next two years. The other former Yugoslav republics are at different stages in the process of joining the bloc. Macedonia expects to obtain a date to start EU accession negotiations in December, after the European Commission recommended the launch of entry talks earlier this month. Serbia and Bosnia each signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU in 2008. Montenegro applied for EU membership last December. 

According to Motusic, the biggest hurdle to merging the regional bourses is regulation.

“Croatia and Slovenia already have pretty similar legislation harmonized with EU rules while for others it’s again just a question of time,” the official told Bloomberg.