Transparency to return on share registers
Â
The Cyprus Stock Exchange and the data vendors are headed for an open clash following the decision of the CSE Council to offer live prices on a three-month free trial basis in an effort to attract interest from Greek data vendors.
Cypriot data vendors who have been channeling CYP 80.000 plus in annual fees to the CSE say the decision, set to come into force in December, will drive them out of business and will have a serious impact on the credibility of the CSE, which keeps changing its rules and regulations.
The Cypriot data vendors – AGFN, Reuters, dot.cy and Stockwatch — have signed contracts with their clients and say that their pricing policy was based on the CSE’s official price list and contracts.
If the CSE Council proceeds with its decision to offer live data free of charge for three months, the data vendors say they will not be able to charge their clients, and risk closure. What’s more, they claim that there is no guarantee that Greek data vendors will start signing contracts with the CSE and generate revenue for the Exchange as they have been doing so for so many years.
Each data vendor pays the CSE some CYP 9,000 in fees plus CYP 3.60 per user in exchange fees that are passed to the CSE generating some CYP 80.000 in annual income.
CSE Chairman Akis Cleanthous tried to tone down the issue saying that while a decision has been taken to give live prices free of charge on a three-month basis, after listening to the complaints of the Cypriot data providers, he will take the issue up with the Council before the end of the month.
Cleanthous told the Financial Mirror that the CSE fees and charges are considered high compared to the ASE, and “until we reach a final conclusion on the prices to be charged and the value of our services on offer, we decided to offer the live prices free of charge.” A decision which may now be reconsidered after Cleanthous had a meeting with the Cypriot data vendors.
Cleanthous insists that the CSE needs to be innovative if it wants to attract Greek interest. “The trial period is a marketing tool to make the CSE more interesting and a good opportunity for Greeks to explore.”
He also brushed aside comments by data vendors that there is no guarantee that after the trial period is over end of February, they will sign contracts with the CSE.
“The same thing was said when we wanted to attract Greek remote members and as you know, because of our efforts we managed to attract significant interest and participation,” said Cleanthous.
Â
Transparency
The CSE has also decided to reinstate a previous practice according to which shareholding interest in listed companies will be widely available according to percentage holdings.
The CSE had one of the best records of upholding transparency rules by submitting the list of the largest shareholders in listed companies according to the number of shares held. This useful tool was used by investors and analysts to follow the trading tactics of large investors.
A fortnight ago however, the CSE changed tactics and started giving details of share registers in raw format, citing the data protection legislation, which prohibits processing personal information.
Following many complaints, and after the recommendation of the CSE’s legal advisors, the CSE has decided to give the information based on the shareholding percentage levels, thus satisfying a key demand of investors to have equal access to publicly available but sensitive information.
Â
