Newex, the New European Exchange, established as a joint venture of Deutsche Borse AG and Wiener Borse AG, commenced trading in Vienna on 3 November, 2000. Newex was set up to become the central, euro-denominated trading and financing platform for companies from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
It was intended to bridge the gap between the different quality standards of the home country exchanges of the respective CEE companies, while offering a direct access to the regional markets and securing the high quality standards of an exchange required by potential western investors. Newex would allow trading only in securities from issuers whose principal places of business were in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, or whose services were offered – or goods were offered or produced for the most part – in CEE countries. It was seen as a key advantage of Newex that its standards had been set up in accordance with EU regulations and that Newex was located within the Euro zone.
