History

The Russian economy continues its stable growth in the wake of the market reforms launched 15 years ago in the beginning of the 1990s. The incorporation of MICEX was one of the first steps in forming the infrastructure of the Russian financial market. During these years, the MICEX Group has been an actively functioning entity in the process of establishing Russia’s market economy and this year it celebrates its 15th anniversary.

The group’s history begins in the early 90s, when leading Russian banks and the Bank of Russia founded the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX), initially intended to conduct voice fixing trading in USD. Three dozen banks took part in trading and the average volume of deals per trading session was about USD 10 mln.

During the past 15 years there has been considerable growth and consolidation of the Russian economy and its financial market. Equally impressive are the changes that took place at MICEX during these years. MICEX became a universal financial exchange where trades are executed in currencies, government, municipal, and corporate bonds, shares, and derivative instruments using a state-of-the-art electronic system. Thanks to modern communications and organizational decisions, MICEX markets went nation-wide, uniting the country’s leading industrial and financial centers. The infrastructure of the national capital market was created using the most advanced exchange and information technologies.

Today, the MICEX Group is the largest exchange market in the former Soviet Union and countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The aggregate daily turnover of trading in all MICEX markets in the beginning of 2007 reached 10 billion USD.

The MICEX Group currently includes several companies that perform their services using a unified technological platform. The Group includes MICEX CJSC, the MICEX Stock Exchange CJSC, the MICEX Settlement House, National Depositary Center, National Commodities Exchange, National Clearing Center, regional exchanges, etc. The group’s companies provide trade, settlement-clearing, and depositary services to about 1,500 leading Russian organizations -participants in the exchange market both in Moscow and in large financial-industrial centers of Russia.

The MICEX Stock Exchange CJSC, acting within the bounds of Group, is the leading Russian stock exchange, which holds trading in shares and bonds of hundreds of leading Russian issuers every day. The securities operations turnover comprises more than 90% of the aggregate turnover of the Russian exchange market for securities and more than 70 % of the aggregate turnover of shares of Russian issuers and ADR for them. Today, the MICEX SE markets are the center of price formation for Russian stock assets.

The MICEX SE holds a reputable place among the world’s leading stock exchanges. According to results of the previous year, the MICEX SE was in the top 20 world exchanges along with platforms such as the Shanghai Stock Exchange (China), National Indian Exchange, and Stock Exchange of Sao Paolo (Brazil).

In terms of the ongoing process of Russia’s entrance into the international financial market and joining the WTO, the MICEX Group is an essential part of the exchange development strategy for integration into the infrastructure of the global capital market. We have seen an increase in the number of foreign participants in MICEX markets, who are able to work at MICEX through the world largest global private net GL NET, which unites trading systems all over the world. Currently more than 4,000 large foreign institutional investors, including 500 of the largest international financial institutes, have the ability to perform operations on the MICEX Stock Exchange through Russian brokers.

The MICEX Group, in cooperation with the International Association of Exchanges of CIS Countries, also participates in projects for creating conditions conducive to forming an integrated stock market of CIS countries on the technological basis of the national exchanges of CIS countries.

In the future, we see the MICEX Group increasing the effectiveness and reliability of its markets even further, reducing participants’ expenses, and bringing the infrastructure of the Russian market into full compliance with the internationally accepted standards.

Important Events in MICEX history (1992–2007)