What is the Athens Stock Exchange like? Athens Stock Exchange reviews and website information

The Athens Exchange, one of the most important financial markets in Greece, is located on Kavalas Street in the center of Athens. It was founded in 1876 and has a history of more than a century. The Athens Stock Exchange is not only the core of the Greek capital market, but also one of the most influential financial trading platforms in Southeast Europe. Its official website is www.helex.gr , providing a transparent, efficient and secure trading environment for investors, enterprises and financial institutions.

History and Development of the Athens Stock Exchange

The history of the Athens Stock Exchange can be traced back to the late 19th century. In 1876, the Athens Stock Exchange was officially established. Its initial main function was to provide financing channels for Greek companies and the government. In its early days, the exchange was small in scale and its trading varieties were relatively limited, mainly focusing on government bonds and a few corporate stocks.

As the Greek economy developed, the Athens Stock Exchange gradually expanded its business scope. In the early 20th century, the exchange began to introduce more corporate stock transactions and gradually established a complete set of trading rules and regulatory systems. In particular, in the 1980s and 1990s, the rapid growth of the Greek economy promoted the further development of the Athens Stock Exchange. In 1999, the Athens Stock Exchange merged with the Greek Derivatives Exchange to form the Hellenic Exchanges Group, further enhancing its position in domestic and international financial markets.

After entering the 21st century, the Athens Stock Exchange continued to promote modernization reforms, introduced electronic trading systems and advanced settlement technologies, and greatly improved trading efficiency and transparency. In addition, the exchange actively participated in the cooperation and exchanges of the international financial market, established extensive cooperative relations with major stock exchanges around the world, and further enhanced its international influence.

The main functions and business of the Athens Stock Exchange

As the core institution of the Greek capital market, the Athens Stock Exchange undertakes a number of important functions, including:

• Stock trading : The Athens Stock Exchange provides a platform for Greek companies to list and trade stocks. Through the exchange, companies can publicly issue stocks, raise funds, and expand their business. At the same time, investors can also buy and sell stocks through the exchange to realize capital appreciation.
• Bond trading : In addition to stock trading, the Athens Stock Exchange also provides trading services for government bonds and corporate bonds. Government bonds are an important tool for Greek government financing, while corporate bonds provide Greek companies with a diversified financing channel.
• Derivatives Trading : The Athens Stock Exchange also offers a variety of financial derivatives trading, including futures, options, etc. These derivatives provide investors with tools for risk management and portfolio diversification.
• Market Information Release : The Athens Stock Exchange regularly releases market data, trading information and company announcements to provide investors with timely and accurate market dynamics and help them make informed investment decisions.
• Market supervision : The Athens Stock Exchange is responsible for supervising the behavior of market participants to ensure fair, just and transparent market transactions. The exchange also cooperates with other regulatory agencies to combat market manipulation, insider trading and other illegal activities to maintain market order.

Market structure of the Athens Stock Exchange

The market structure of the Athens Stock Exchange is mainly divided into the following parts:

• Main Market : The Main Market is the core market of the Athens Stock Exchange, mainly for large and mature enterprises. Companies listed on the Main Market usually have a high market value and good financial conditions, and investors can find stocks with long-term investment value here.
• GEM Market : GEM market is a market that provides financing services for small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups. Compared with the main board market, the listing threshold of GEM market is lower, and it is suitable for enterprises that are in a rapid development stage but have not yet reached the main board listing standards.
• Bond market : The bond market is an important part of the Athens Stock Exchange, providing trading services for government bonds, corporate bonds and other fixed income products. The bond market provides investors with a relatively stable source of income, while also providing companies with a variety of financing channels.
• Derivatives Market : The derivatives market is an innovative section of the Athens Stock Exchange that provides trading services for financial derivatives such as futures and options. The derivatives market provides investors with tools for risk management and portfolio diversification, while also providing market participants with more trading opportunities.

Trading mechanism of the Athens Stock Exchange

The Athens Stock Exchange uses an electronic trading system, and all transactions are conducted through a computer system, ensuring the efficiency and transparency of transactions. The trading mechanism of the exchange mainly includes the following aspects:

• Trading hours : The Athens Stock Exchange's trading hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. The exchange will adjust trading hours according to market conditions and holidays. The specific trading hours are subject to the exchange's announcement.
• Trading method : The Athens Stock Exchange adopts a combination of competitive bidding and continuous trading. In the competitive bidding stage, the exchange will match transactions based on the bids of both buyers and sellers; in the continuous trading stage, investors can submit buy and sell orders at any time, and the system will match them based on the principle of price priority and time priority.
• Settlement and delivery : The Athens Stock Exchange adopts a T+2 settlement cycle, that is, the settlement of funds and securities is completed on the second working day after the transaction is concluded. The exchange registers and settles securities through the Central Securities Depository (CSD) to ensure the security and reliability of transactions.

Regulation and Compliance at the Athens Stock Exchange

As the core institution of the Greek capital market, the Athens Stock Exchange undertakes important market supervision responsibilities. The exchange's supervision and compliance work mainly includes the following aspects:

• Market rule making : The Athens Stock Exchange is responsible for making and maintaining market trading rules to ensure fairness, impartiality and transparency in market transactions. The exchange's rules cover trading behavior, information disclosure, market access and other aspects, providing clear operating guidelines for market participants.
• Information disclosure supervision : The Athens Stock Exchange requires listed companies to regularly disclose financial reports, major event announcements and other information to ensure that investors can keep abreast of the company's operating and financial conditions. The exchange also publishes market data and transaction information through the information disclosure platform to provide investors with comprehensive market dynamics.
• Market monitoring and investigation : The Athens Stock Exchange uses an advanced market monitoring system to monitor market trading behavior in real time, detect and investigate abnormal trading behavior. The exchange also cooperates with the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) to combat market manipulation, insider trading and other illegal activities and maintain market order.
• Investor protection : The Athens Stock Exchange is committed to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of investors, helping investors improve their risk awareness and investment capabilities by providing market education, investor consulting and other services. The exchange has also established an investor protection fund to provide compensation for investors who suffer losses due to market violations.

Athens Stock Exchange's International Cooperation

The Athens Stock Exchange actively participates in the cooperation and exchanges of the international financial market and has established extensive cooperative relations with major stock exchanges around the world. The international cooperation of the exchange mainly includes the following aspects:

• Cross-border listing and trading : The Athens Stock Exchange cooperates with several international stock exchanges to promote cross-border listing and trading. Through cooperation with international exchanges, Greek companies can enter the international market more conveniently and attract more international investors.
• Information Sharing and Technical Cooperation : The Athens Stock Exchange has established information sharing and technical cooperation mechanisms with international exchanges to jointly promote technological innovation and standardization in the financial market. The exchange also actively participates in the activities of international financial organizations to share market experience and best practices.
• Market promotion and investor education : The Athens Stock Exchange promotes the Greek capital market to the international market through international roadshows, investor forums and other activities to attract more international investors. The exchange also cooperates with international investor education institutions to provide market education and training to help international investors better understand the Greek market.

Future prospects of the Athens Stock Exchange

With the continuous development of the global financial market, the Athens Stock Exchange faces new opportunities and challenges. In the future, the exchange will continue to promote modernization reforms, improve market efficiency and transparency, and attract more domestic and foreign investors. At the same time, the exchange will also strengthen cooperation with the international financial market and promote the internationalization of the Greek capital market.

The Athens Stock Exchange will continue to be committed to providing high-quality financial services to enterprises and investors and supporting the sustainable development of the Greek economy. Through continuous innovation and reform, the Athens Stock Exchange is expected to become a financial trading platform with significant influence in Southeast Europe and even the world in the future.

Summarize

As the core institution of the Greek capital market, the Athens Stock Exchange has a long history and rich market experience. By providing diversified trading products, advanced trading systems and strict regulatory mechanisms, the exchange provides investors and enterprises with a transparent, efficient and secure trading environment. In the future, the Athens Stock Exchange will continue to promote modernization reforms, strengthen international cooperation, and promote the further development of the Greek capital market.