Greek stock market to reopen Monday after five-week shutdown (updated)

Euronext Athens Holding SA

31/07/2015 17:43

(Recasts with stock market to reopen Monday, decree issued) 
    ATHENS, July 31 (Reuters) - Greece's stock market will 
reopen on Monday after a five-week shutdown caused by capital 
controls, but local investors will face restrictions aimed at 
averting capital outflows, a bourse spokeswoman said on Friday. 
    The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE)  .ATG   EXCr.AT  has been 
shut since June 29, when the government closed banks and imposed 
strict limits on withdrawals and foreign transfers to prevent a 
run on deposits by savers and companies. 
    The Finance Ministry cleared the way for the exchange to 
resume operations by issuing a decree setting out new trading 
rules for local investors. There will be no restrictions on 
foreign investors. 
    "After the finance minister signed the relevant decree 
earlier today, the Athens Stock Exchange board ... decided to 
reopen the markets of Athens Stock exchange on Monday, August 
3," the spokeswoman said. 
    Traders and exchange officials had hoped the exchange would 
be able to reopen this week after the European Central Bank gave 
Greece the green light to allow normal operations by foreign 
investors, with some limits for local investors. 
    Under the ECB-approved plan, local investors would be 
allowed to buy shares with existing cash holdings, but not to 
withdraw money from their Greek bank accounts to buy shares. 
    Some market participants had warned that unlimited trading 
for domestic investors would have posed a serious risk for 
lenders by accelerating capital outflows. 
    Technical glitches at local banks, which will be required to 
enforce the trading restrictions, had further complicated the 
exchange's reopening and many securities traders have taken an 
early summer holiday during the closure. 
    Trading in all stocks including banking shares will be 
allowed and volatility limits will be lowered, the bourse 
spokeswoman said. Volatility limits on the Greek bourse were 
previously at plus or minus 30 percent. 
 
 (Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas and Angeliki Koutantou; 
Writing by Helen Popper; Editing by David Holmes) 
 ((george.georgiopoulos@thomsonreuters.com; +30210 337 6437; 
Reuters Messaging: 
george.georgiopoulos.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: EUROZONE GREECE/STOCKMARKET