MTS To Launch New Market for Polish Government Bonds

MTS S.p.A. and Centralna Tabela Ofert (CeTO) announced today that they have signed a letter of intent for the implementation of a domestic Polish government bond market, based on the MTS system. CeTO is the designated Polish electronic Treasury securities

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MTS S.p.A. and Centralna Tabela Ofert (CeTO) announced today that they have signed a letter of intent for the implementation of a domestic Polish government bond market, based on the MTS system. CeTO is the designated Polish electronic Treasury securities market owned by the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the Polish Primary Dealers, the brokerage houses and the Ministry of Finance.

According to the letter, MTS will acquire a minority stake in CeTO and provide its Telematico platform for trading. The initiative, which will promote liquidity and the integration of Polish debt with markets in Western Europe, is expected to launch in time for Poland’s accession to the European Union in May 2004. Following the launch of the wholesale market, BondVision, MTS’ dealer-to-client market, will be used to distribute liquidity to “buy-side” investors. The prospective partnership will further advance the regulated non-treasury bonds market successfully developed by CeTO.

“MTS technology, its market-making model and its wide distribution network will help increase liquidity in Polish debt securities, thereby further reducing funding costs for the Polish government,” says Janusz Czarzasty, Chairman of CeTO. “We are extremely pleased to be heading into EU Accession with MTS as our partner.”

Gianluca Garbi, CEO of MTS S.p.A., added: “We are delighted to be collaborating with CeTO as cooperation with key existing players has always been a part of our business model. With their support in the launch of a Polish Market, we will further our strategy to facilitate a more cohesive European financial system, while continuing to respect the unique aspects of each country.

“The Polish Treasury securities market is the largest market in the region with a high potential of growth,” says Ryszard Michalski, Deputy Minister of Finance. “The Ministry of Finance expects the MTS-CeTO market to generate the majority of trading in Polish debt instruments as well as that of other Central Eastern European countries.”

MTS says that once the MTS-CeTO market has been implemented, Polish dealers will have access to a transparent, efficient means by which they can fulfil their obligations as Primary Dealers, as well as an option to participate directly in the global bond market. Since all major European and global financial institutions are connected to the MTS markets, there will be a unique opportunity for global participants in terms of easy, direct access to Polish debt trading. Rules governing the market will be established in consultation with the Polish Primary Dealers and with the approval of the Polish Ministry of Finance. The majority of bonds traded will be denominated in Polish Zlotys with the possibility for parallel quotation of Euro-denominated bonds traded on New EuroMTS.

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