All Under Control

What have been the milestones for the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) since its founding?

The BSE is actually the second-oldest stock market in the region, first established in 1920. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was a lot of activity on the BSE. Then, the civil war erupted in 1975 and the BSE closed in 1983 until it was reopened in 1996. Lately, the Lebanese parliament endorsed a new Financial Markets Law that resulted in the creation of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), which aims to regulate and supervise the activities of the capital markets in Lebanon and create an adequate legal framework conducive to the development of the Lebanese financial markets. This new law previews the establishment of a Financial Market Court to adjudicate financial matters, and the restructuring of the BSE with a view to transfer its ownership to the private sector. Recently, in March 2014, the BSE signed an agreement with Euronext, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange Group (NYSE: ICE), for the implementation of a new trading application platform that supports the expected growth in equity listings and the entry into new asset classes in the Lebanese markets.

How successful has the CMA been since its inception in August 2011?

After the complete formation of its board of directors in July 2012, the CMA issued a series of circulars and resolutions aimed at regulating the disclosure policy of joint-stock companies and mutual funds that have their shares or units traded on the BSE or on the over-the-counter (OTC) market, as well as of the firms’ obligations in terms of disclosing information to shareholders and unit holders. Likewise, the CMA also issued resolutions relating to the committees, units, and departments that must be met by these companies. These circulars specify that, by September 2014, joint-stock companies and mutual funds that have their shares or units traded on the stock exchange or the OTC market, or that have more than 20 shareholders or unit holders, are required to have a compliance department and an internal audit department that shall be autonomous from other departments. The basic functions of the compliance department shall be to ensure the obedience of these companies and mutual funds with anti-money laundering laws and related Lebanese laws and regulations, while the internal audit department shall evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes. The CMA also issued circulars related to crowd-funding activities and to the requirements to practice specific functions in the financial sector in Lebanon.

Besides establishing the necessary laws, do you think there is anything else the government can do to attract more institutional investors to the BSE?

Globally, institutional investors have come to play a key role in the development of the capital markets. Recent studies show that most institutional investors share a preference for large, liquid, and widely held stocks, with high disclosure standards. Likewise, institutional investors are biased for stocks that are members of a regional or international index. We believe that, in addition to political and security stability, the intelligent levels of corporate governance of listed companies is pivotal in attracting institutional investors to the Lebanese market as institutional investors rely on proper governance to enhance long-term investment returns and diminish risks. We are confident that the creation of the new financial market authority and the series of circulars that have been published and will be published in the future will give national and foreign investors a clear message that Lebanon now has the proper legislation to control and regulate its financial markets, which will help in attracting more foreign institutional investors.

In an ideal world, where would you like to see the BSE in a year?

From the standpoint of foreigners, we need to become a real offshore financial center with real facilities for foreign companies. That is very ambitious, but if the political and economic situation would allow for it, Beirut could perhaps regain its position as a financial center for the Middle East.