Welcome stories

13 February 2006

Welcome to London: the world’s capital market

The London Stock Exchange today welcomed Russian company, Comstar, to its Main Market.

So far this year, a total of seven international companies have joined London’s markets raising approximately £2.91 billion.

At US$ 1.06 billion, Comstar’s Offering is the second largest Russian IPO on a public market anywhere in the world after Sistema’s initial public offering on the Main Market in February 2005 (US$ 1.56 billion).

Since the beginning of January, international companies that have joined the Exchange’s markets have included:

• Lotte Shopping - South Korea
• Asian Growth Properties - Singapore
• Comstar - Russia
• Bodisen Biotech and China Goldmines - China
• Xcounter – Sweden
• E-Pay Asia - Australia

With the world’s largest pool of international investment funds under management, an unrivalled pool of adviser expertise and a differentiated choice of markets, the London Stock Exchange is the leading choice for ambitious companies from across globe needing access to global funds and profile to grow their businesses.

In 2005 the London Stock Exchange attracted a record 139 international companies, from 29 countries, to its Main Market and AIM – an increase of 96 per cent on 2004. International companies raised a total of £6.7 billion in new issues on the Exchange’s markets, the highest value since 2000.

Click ">here for more information on Comstar UTS

Click ">here for details on how our markets performed in 2005