The MICEX Group, which integrates the trading and the settlement systems on a unified technological platform, holds the central place in the infrastructure of the Russian capital market. The Group is comprised of the MICEX, the MICEX Stock Exchange, the National Mercantile Exchange, the MICEX Settlement House, the National Depositary Center, the National Clearing Center, regional exchanges, etc. These organizations provide trading, settlement, clearing and depositary services to about 1500 market participants — leading Russian banks and broker companies located in Moscow and Russia’s large financial and industrial centers.
At present, the MICEX operates a number of markets: the foreign exchange market, the government bonds market, the market of derivative instruments, the stock market, the market of corporate and regional bonds and the money market. After implementing the up-to-date electronic trading and depositary systems the MICEX became a universal financial exchange which serves as a basis for a nationwide system of trading in all of the main segments of the financial market. The average daily turnover at MICEX is 7 billion US dollars.
The MICEX Stock Exchange is the largest trading platform in Russia. It provides trades in stocks of more than 500 issuers, including such “blue chips” as Gazprom, Lukoil, Surgutneftegaz, Sberbank, RAO UES, Norilsk Niсkel, MTS, Tatneft, Novatek and others – with a combined market capitalization of 650 billion US dollars. In 2005, the total value of transactions on the MICEX SE reached 226 billion dollars, transactions in stocks accounting for 142 billion dollars. This makes up over 80% of the total value of transactions on Russia’s leading floors. The MICEX Index, Russia’s main stock market indicator, grew by 83% in 2005.
The MICEX Group has one of the word’s most advanced electronic trading and depositary systems. Fiber optic lines, satellite and other communication channels connect the Exchange with over 1500 remote workplaces in banks, broker companies and other financial institutions located in 50 Russian cities, including Moscow, Novosibirsk, St.Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg, Vladivostok, Nizhni Novgorod, Samara and other cities. When the MICEX was connected to Moscow unit of GL NET Company, which is the world-largest global private network with access to leading exchanges, over 3.5 thousand large foreign institutional investors, including 500 largest international financial institutions, were enabled to carry out their transactions on the MICEX Stock Exchange.
