Growth
Trading was with pen and paper. Buyers shouted at or called into their brokers, who stood near their whiteboards that listed each company's share buy and sell price.
That changed in February 2009, when for the first time since it was launched in the mid-1990s, the Iraq Stock Exchange announced that it would have a computerized system to show the movement of shares. Iraqi Exchange and Securities Commission Chairman Abdul-Razzak al-Saadi said that the new system would replace two blackboards that are manned by personnel using chalk to record all changes. Al-Saadi said a $7 million grant from international donors enabled the stock exchange to buy the electronic system.
Trading was suspended for several months in 2006 due to violence, and is subject to power outages.
In 2006 92 trading sessions were held (an average of 2 per week), 57 billion shares were traded (at a value of 146 billion dinars), and 38,000 trades were consummated. The trading floor is currently open six hours a week: Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
The ISX opened to foreign investors on August 2, 2007. The market is dominated by a handful of wealthy Iraqis, many of whom live outside the country and call in their orders by phone to brokers, says Taha Abdul Salam, the exchange's CEO. Foreign investors in late 2008 accounted for less than 20% of activity.
The ISX has been unaffected by the Economic crisis of 2008.
On April 19, 2009, the ISX switched to electronic trading. Currently, only five companies are available for electronic trading, but more will be added over the next few months.
Read more about this topic: Iraq Stock Exchange
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