On the basis of trading in the shares and primary capital certificates of stock exchange listed companies over the last six months, Oslo Børs has reviewed the allocation of listed companies to liquidity categories. The new allocations will come into effect from Friday 19 December 2008.
The allocations to liquidity categories provide an indication of how frequently the various shares trade, which is very useful information for investors when making their investment decisions. The rebalancing shows slightly fewer shares in the OB Match category and slightly more in the OB Standard category.
The rebalancing has caused one change in the OBX category and Norske Skog is now a part of the category. The OBX category has since November consisted of 24 shares because Awilco Offshore 31 October 2008 was delisted from Oslo Børs.
The number of companies in the OB Match category is reduced from 130 to 116, which is a somewhat larger change than at the previous review in June 2008. This is partly because the number of companies removed from listing in the period was greater than the number of new companies listed. The OB Standard category has increased by 6 companies to 67 over the last six months. The OB Primary Capital Certificates category is reduced by 1 to contain 21 saving banks following the delisting of Sandsvær Sparebank in October.
During the period from 1 June 2008 to and including 30 November 2008, a total of 5 companies were admitted to listing on Oslo Børs for the first time. The OB New category currently includes just one company, Polaris Media ASA, created by the merger of Adresseavisen and Harstad Tidende.
As at 19 December 2008, a total of 230 shares and primary capital certificates are listed on Oslo Børs. This represents a net reduction of 9 shares/primary capital certificates since the previous review of the category allocations in June.
The number of companies in the different Oslo Børs liquidity categories are as follows (figures for the previous period in brackets):
OBX 25 (24)
OB Match 116 (130)
OB Standard 67 (61)
OB New 1 (1)
OB Primary Capital Certificates 21 (22)
The OBX category is based on the 25 most liquid shares on Oslo Børs. Shares with a minimum of 10 trades per day on average qualify for inclusion in the OB Match category. The OB Match category also includes companies that have entered into liquidity provider arrangements for their shares where these arrangements are approved by Oslo Børs. As of 18 December, 36 companies have such arrangements, a reduction of 3 companies from the previous review in June. The reason for the reduction is that 3 companies that had entered into liquidity provider arrangements ceased to be listed during the period.
Shares with fewer than 10 trades per day on average are allocated to the OB Standard category. Savings banks with issues of listed primary capital certificates make up a separate category, while shares that have only a short history of listing (listed for less than two months) are included in the OB New category.
The allocations to liquidity categories with effect from 19 December 2008 can be seen at: http://www.oslobors.no/ob/listestruktur?languageID=1