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The Iraq Stock Exchange ('ISX), formally the Baghdad Stock Exchange, is a stock exchange in Baghdad, Iraq.
The Iraq Stock Exchange was incorporated and began operations in June 2004.[1] It operates under the oversight of the Iraq Securities Commission, an independent commission modeled after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. June Reed is an American adviser to the stock exchange.[1]
Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it was called the Baghdad Stock Exchange and was operated by the Iraqi Ministry of Finance. Now it is a self-regulated organization similar to the New York Stock Exchange, owned by the 50 or so member brokerages.[2]
As of 2005, the ISX was Iraq's only stock exchange. It opened in 2004 with 15 companies, and now lists more than 100 companies. Turnover of shares in 2005 was approximately $5 million USD per trading session. Major stocks included Bank of Baghdad, Baghdad Soft Drinks Co, Iraqi Tufted Carpets Co, Hader Marble, and Altherar Agriculture.[2]
Aswat al-Iraq news agency covers every trading session with reports published on the web in English[3] and Arabic[4]
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Trading was with pen and paper. Buyers shouted at or called into their brokers, who stood near their whiteboards that listed each company's share buy and sell price.[5][6]
That changed in February 2009, when for the first time since it was launched in the mid-1990s, the Iraq Stock Exchange announced that it would have a computerized system to show the movement of shares. Iraqi Exchange and Securities Commission Chairman Abdul-Razzak al-Saadi said that the new system would replace two blackboards that are manned by personnel using chalk to record all changes. Al-Saadi said a $7 million grant from international donors enabled the stock exchange to buy the electronic system.[2]
Trading was suspended for several months in 2006 due to violence,[5] and is subject to power outages.
In 2006 92 trading sessions were held (an average of 2 per week), 57 billion shares were traded (at a value of 146 billion dinars), and 38,000 trades were consummated. [3] Now the trading floor is now open Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon, six hours a week.[7]
The ISX opened to foreign investors on August 2, 2007. The market is dominated by a handful of wealthy Iraqis, many of whom live outside the country and call in their orders by phone to brokers, says Taha Abdul Salam, the exchange's CEO. Foreign investors in late 2008 accounted for less than 20% of activity.[4]
The ISX has been unaffected by the Economic crisis of 2008.[8]
On April 19, 2009, the ISX switched to electronic trading. Currently, only five companies are available for electronic trading, but more will be added over the next few months.[9]
Market capitaliaztion currently stands at $1.8 billion dollars, with 61 companies currently trading electronically on NASDAQ OMX trading platform, all companies are scheduled to complete the transfer into the new platform by the end of November 2009. The ISX is preparing to link its exchange with several regional exchanges, including an EFT available in all NASDAQ OMX exchanges. Iraq Treasury Bills and corporate bonds are proposed to trade in the secondary market on the ISX.
Washington is hosting an Iraqi Investment Summit on October 20–21, 2009. Investment and IPO contracts of up to $500 billion dollars are proposed for offering. Major US banks and international investment firms like JP Morgan Chase, Citi, HSBC, Lazard, and Goldman Sachs will be present to possibly announce joint ventures from negotiations that started during the London economic conference on Iraq held earlier this year.
The ISX index started the year at 50 as of June the market index stands at 284, on September 1, 2009 the index changed its correlation of companies weighted in the index value the new index value currently stands at 117. The price charts would have to be re-calculated to reflect the new change. This market is currently undervalued when compared to the region, as Palestine sits at 500, Lebanon 1,400 and Kuwait 7,900. Some analylist project the ISX index to go up by a factor of twenty towards 5,680.
With Iraq floating on a sea of oil and a new political landscape, this economy is poised to outpace the region in growth. Iraq is set to auction up to 40 billion barrels of oil on November 16–20, 2009. This auction maybe the largest transaction of oil in the history of hydrocarbons. With the current global imbalances possible (bancor) G20 currency realignments, Iraq's black gold is likely to serve well in a basket commodity based currency standard. The turn of events for Iraq could easily return the country to its ancient glory of Babylon.
   | Quotes, news and analysis for the Iraq Stock Exchange - www.isx-data.com |
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