Cyprus-Forum.com

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Who bought big into BoC shares?
By Charles Charalambous
BANK of Cyprus (BoC) may have a new big shareholder, after an exceptionally high volume of BoC shares were traded trading on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) on Friday.

The price of BoC shares surged on the ASE following the bank’s inclusion in an international share index operated by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI).

The volume of shares traded on the ASE on Friday was exceptionally high at 27,474,899, representing 4.68 per cent of BoC’s total shares, and around 23 million more than the daily average during the preceding nine trading days. BoC stock opened at €4.80 and closed at €5.50, and the day’s traded share volume was valued at €142,376,026.

The MSCI international and global equity indices are tracked by big investors around the world as the benchmark indices by which the performance of international equity portfolios are measured. MSCI announced on 8 May that BoC and Marfin Popular Bank, both incorporated in Cyprus and listed on the ASE, would be included in a specific index called the MSCI Greece Equity Universe.

Banking sources have suggested to the Cyprus Mail that Friday’s trading was just a case of institutional investors “realigning their portfolios”.

But the burning question on everyone’s lips is: who bought the shares, and is a sizeable portion of BoC shares now owned by a single investor?

The definitive answer will only be given tomorrow, when those who bought BoC shares on Friday will be named in the ASE register.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

[DT.]

Who bought big into BoC shares?
By Charles Charalambous
BANK of Cyprus (BoC) may have a new big shareholder, after an exceptionally high volume of BoC shares were traded trading on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) on Friday.

The price of BoC shares surged on the ASE following the bank’s inclusion in an international share index operated by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI).

The volume of shares traded on the ASE on Friday was exceptionally high at 27,474,899, representing 4.68 per cent of BoC’s total shares, and around 23 million more than the daily average during the preceding nine trading days. BoC stock opened at €4.80 and closed at €5.50, and the day’s traded share volume was valued at €142,376,026.

The MSCI international and global equity indices are tracked by big investors around the world as the benchmark indices by which the performance of international equity portfolios are measured. MSCI announced on 8 May that BoC and Marfin Popular Bank, both incorporated in Cyprus and listed on the ASE, would be included in a specific index called the MSCI Greece Equity Universe.

Banking sources have suggested to the Cyprus Mail that Friday’s trading was just a case of institutional investors “realigning their portfolios”.

But the burning question on everyone’s lips is: who bought the shares, and is a sizeable portion of BoC shares now owned by a single investor?

The definitive answer will only be given tomorrow, when those who bought BoC shares on Friday will be named in the ASE register.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

There's a tonne of Funds that have MSCI index tracking units. If there is a new inclusion into that index then they will all have to adjust their holdings to include the addittion.