A journalistic investigation on the "pros" and "cons" of the merger between the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) and Sibex seems appropriate now, when we are just two weeks away from the general shareholder meetings scheduled on this topic by the two exchanges, on the same day of April 29th.
The supporters of the merger consider that the "Great Union" will benefit the entire food chain: market operators, brokers and their customers.
Nobody discusses the issuers" gains or the macroeconomic benefits. The idea seemed so foreign, that our question - "What consequences do you think the merger of the two exchanges would have on the economy and on the issuers?" - was left unanswered.
It is explicable. The merger won"t provide any benefit to Romania"s economy or to the listed companies.
The opinions in favor of the merger share some common traits, meaning that they could be grouped together by categories: market simplification, lower trading costs, reduced cost of investing in the development of the market, the increase of trading volumes and turnover, getting with the international trend. There are some opinions that stand out as well.
Most opinions focused on the benefits to market operators. The benefits to investors are mentioned to an extent, whereas the benefits to brokerages pertain more to their status of shareholders of the market operators, rather than their position as intermediaries.
The supporters of the merger believe that it will make the two exchanges more competitive in terms of volume, turnover and number of trades, but provided no detail on how the growth process would occur, perhaps relying on the addition of the figures and on the inherent "momentum" specific to the capital market.
* I. Market simplification
Two is more complicated than one - an aspect which has been repeatedly emphasized by
