The new platform, called GlobalConnect, opened at 9 a.m. on Friday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
So far, five companies are listed on GlobalConnect: the financial services firm Allianz, the car makers BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, and the technology conglomerate Siemens, officials said.
By 10 a.m., trading had totalled PLN 15,100 (EUR 3,210), reporters were told.
WSE board member Izabela Olszewska said at the launch of GlobalConnect that the Warsaw bourse was “seeking to expand and upgrade its range of services available to investors on the Polish capital market.”
She added that the five companies that hit GlobalConnect on Friday represented just “the first tranche,” and that, together with its partners, the WSE would be looking to expand the platform.
According to Olszewska, GlobalConnect “can be especially attractive to individual investors, who will be able to diversify their investment portfolios geographically.”
She told reporters that GlobalConnect was designed to allow investors to buy shares in the biggest and most liquid companies listed on European stock markets.
“As a next step we will introduce trading in stocks traded on American bourses,” she said.
Olszewska also said that the GlobalConnect market "is very easy to access," with shares available for purchase in the Polish currency through existing brokerage accounts.
pm/gs
Source: IAR, PAP, 300gospodarka.pl, gpwglobalconnect.pl