Trading volume on Prague bourse at Kc166.2bn in 2022

Prague, Jan 2 (CTK) - The trading volume on the Prague Stock Exchange (BCPP) grew by 18.3 percent yr/yr to Kc166.2bn in 2022, the biggest amount in six years, posting a rise of the third year in a row, according to statistics the BCPP has provided to CTK.

Back in 2007, the volume of deals on BCPP exceeded Kc1,000bn.

The most traded titles of 2022 included power utility CEZ (Kc70.7bn), Czech bank Komercni banka (Kc38.5bn), Austria's Erste Group Bank (Kc34.1bn), Moneta Money Bank (Kc12.6bn) and cybersecurity firm GEN Digital (formerly Avast, Kc2.9bn).

The headline stock index PX fell by 15.7 percent yr/yr, according to analysts. The PX-TR index, which includes dividends, dropped by 9.1 percent, the bourse said.

"This year's (2022) turbulence on markets led to more frenetic trading activity, so it is not surprising that year-on-year volumes increased," Cyrrus analyst Tomas Pfeiler told CTK.

However, the Prague Stock Exchange is struggling with structural problems such as the lack of interest of large corporations to enter the floor and the exit of listed companies, he added.

The reason why the exchange's annual volumes have been lower in recent years than in 2007 lies in the change in the trading system and the number of members of the main market, according to Wood & Company broker Patrik Stefek. Back in 2007, the so-called SPAD system included the shares of AAA Auto, CME, NWR, Unipetrol and others.

According to Tomas Cverna, an analyst at XTB, the fall in trading between 2007 and 2010 was a consequence of the US mortgage crisis, which caused significant turbulences on global equity markets in the form of capital outflows. Between 2015 and 2021, investors looked abroad where there are fewer geopolitical risks for their money, he said.

The high share of deals in CEZ shares was caused by investors' interest in energy companies during the energy crisis. Banks benefited from rising interest rates, especially at the beginning of last year, he added.

Last year also brought the exit of some companies. One of them was telecommunications firm O2, which was acquired by financial group PPF at the end of February, Cverna recalled.

The second company to leave the BCPP was Avast, which became part of the US-based NortonLifeLock. Shares in the newly formed company then began trading on the Prague floor under the name Gen Digital, he noted.

According to data from the BCPP, its Start market, designated for small and medium-sized enterprises, was newly entered by firms Gevorkyan, M&T kliky, Coloseum Holding, Bezvavlasy and Hardwario last year.

The Standard market admitted the listing of Wood SPAC, the first SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) issue in Central Europe.

BCPP trading volumes in 1994, 2003-2022:

year	Kc bn
2022	166.2
2021	140.5
2020	125.3
2019	108.8
2018	143
2017	139
2016	168
2015	168
2014	153
2013	175
2012	251
2011	371
2010	390
2009	464
2008	852
2007	1,013
2006	849
2005	1,041
2004	480
2003	257
1994	43

Source: BCPP

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