articles | 19 January 2017

Bank of Cyprus debuts on LSE

The Bank of Cyprus (BoC) share price briefly leapt to €4.45 in London trading as it made its debut on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The listing was made with total issued share capital of 446,199,933 ordinary shares at a nominal value of €0.10 each.

As of 11:09 UK time the price had settled back at around €3.49, higher than its opening price of €3.22.

The bank has been admitted to the standard listing segment of the Official List of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority. It is trading on the Main Market for listed securities of the LSE under the ticker symbol BOCH. The listing on the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) and trading on the Main Market of the CSE is under the ticker symbol BOCH/ΤΡΚΗ, with ISIN IE00BD5B1Y92.

Trading commenced on the CSE and the LSE at 10:30am (Cyprus time) and 8:00am (London time).

“We are very pleased to see our shares commence trading on the LSE, which is a tremendous achievement,” said BoC Chairman Josef Ackermann.

“We expect this listing, on one of the world’s leading international markets, to facilitate greater profile, liquidity and market access.”

The bank said in a statement that the listing on the LSE is expected to improve the liquidity of the group’s stock, enhance the group’s visibility and lead to a broader base of investors capable of supporting the group in the long-term and further enhance the confidence of all stakeholders in the group, the bank said.

“The listing of BOC Holdings on the LSE enables us to fulfil a long-standing commitment to shareholders,” said Ackermann.

“It also constitutes an additional major milestone in the transformation of the Group and its strategy to enhance its financial strength. We welcome the increased engagement with market participants and meeting the highest standards in corporate governance and transparency.”

'Flag carrier' for Cyprus

The Chairman said that the BoC “will act as a flag carrier for Cyprus on international markets raising the country’s profile as a destination for foreign investment. We are grateful to our shareholders for their overwhelming support for the London listing and look forward to their continued support, as well as to welcoming new shareholders to BOC Holdings.”

The listing follows BoC’s return to the debt capital markets and the full repayment of Emergency Liquidity Assistance funding since the start of 2017.

HSBC Bank plc acted as adviser to the London listing and Cyprus Investment and Securities Corporation Limited (CISCO) as the lead manager in relation to the listing in Cyprus. Sidley Austin acted as English and US legal advisers, and Chryssafinis & Polyviou LLC acted as Cypriot legal advisors, to the Group.

Source: InCyprus

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