New Oslo platform ready to fast-track company listings
Shipowners will be able to list on a new platform in Norway within a two-week period under a new initiative to be launched soon by the Oslo Stock Exchange OSE).
The new multilateral trading facility (MTF) option draws inspiration from London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and will sit between the main OSE and the popular OVER-THE-COUNTER (OTC) market.
It is hoped the new listing option will be available from the first TRADING DAY in 2016 — 4 January — Oivind Amundsen, senior vice-president, head of primary market and legal at the Oslo Bors, told TradeWinds. Oslo is already the second most popular shipping exchange GLOBALLY, with companies able to list on the main board within four to eight weeks.
The new initiative will cut that time frame in half for companies desiring quick access to the CAPITAL MARKETS, he says.
“We are still working on the project but we think that [the two-week timetable] is doable,” Amundsen said.
It will have a more limited due-diligence process than for a full listing, less extensive requirements to be listed and no prospectus required if a PUBLIC offering is not undertaken.
The MTF is expected to attract a broad range of companies, Amundsen says. That includes smaller family businesses looking to sell out their shares and larger shipping companies, such as Frontline 2012, that now TRADE ON the OTC market in the Norwegian CAPITAL.
The new option will have the benefit of being quicker to market, while offering AUTOMATED TRADING and investor protection, Amundsen explains.
“It will be for all companies that want to raise capital really fast. We see that in both the energy market, oil services and also in shipping, when there is money [to be raised], they normally do it quickly,” he said.
source:www.tradewindsnes.com
