Armenian Stock Exchange
 | |
| Joint Stock Company | |
| Industry | Stock exchange |
| Founded | 2001, demutualized in 2007 |
| Headquarters | Yerevan, Armenia |
Key people | Armen Melikyan, CEO |
| Products | listing, organized market to trade stocks, corporate and Government bonds, foreign currency |
| Owner | NASDAQ OMX Group |
| Website | www.nasdaqomx.am |
NASDAQ OMX Armenia (Armenian: ՆԱՍԴԱՔ ՕԷՄԷՔՍ Արմենիա NASDAK' OEMEK'S Armenia), formerly "Armenian Stock Exchange" or "Armex", is the only stock exchange currently operating in Armenia. It is located in Yerevan, the capital city. The stock exchange began operations in 2001 as a self-regulatory organization founded by the exchange members. In November 2007, pursuant to relevant amendments in the legislation covering the local securities market, it was demutualized and became an open joint-stock company. On November 21, 2007, 100% of the stock exchange's shares were purchased by the Nordic exchange operator OMX Group that also operates seven other stock exchanges in the Nordic/Baltic region.
In March 2008, after the merger of U.S. NASDAQ and Nordic OMX Group was completed, Armenian Stock Exchange, as well as the Central Depository of Armenia, became part of the world's largest exchange operator, the NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. On January 27, 2009, the Armenian Stock Exchange was officially renamed NASDAQ OMX Armenia.
The state regulatory authority for the stock exchange and the Armenian securities market is the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA). Instruments currently traded on Armex include stocks, corporate bonds, government and CBA bonds, currency, and REPO (repurchase agreements) on corporate securities. Trading hours for all markets are 11:00-15:00 (local time, GMT+4).
Management
The Nasdaq OMX Armenia is operated by a supervisory board, composed of members of the parent company (Nasdaq OMX), as well as a local management team. The supervisory board is headed by the Director of New markets at Nasdaq OMX, Henri Bergstrom. Other members of this board include Indar Ascuks and Konstantin Saroyan, the Chief Executive of Nasdaq OMX Armenia.[1] The management team consists of Konstantin Saroyan, Karen Zakaryan, Deputy CEO and Head of Market Services, Elena Melik-Karamova, Chief Accountant of the Nasdaq OMX Armenia, Eugenia Evoyan, Head of Marketing & Communications, and Grigor Bekmezyan, the Chief Legal Counsel of the stock exchange. The composition of the supervisory board is constructed mostly from members of the OMX group, the parent company of the Armenian Stock Exchange, while the management team is composed solely of on-site, local employees.[2]
The New Armenian Compulsory Pension System
Starting on January 1, 2014, the Armenian Government initiated a new statewide pension program which forces all employees born after 1974 to set aside 5 percent of their total yearly salary into private pension funds.[3] According to the new legislation, The Government of Armenia made an agreement with Central Depository of Armenia and Nasdaq OMX to allow these organizations to be in charge of the registry of the madatory participants of this new pension system, meaning these organizations are responsible for collecting and properly allocating the assets that are set aside for these pension programs.[4]
Since the new pension system was introduced, the Nasdaq OMX has seen a large influx of activity on the premise that more money will enter the market once the inflow of pension fund money has been realized.[5]
