Prohibition of short selling up to the 30th September 2015
Following the re-opening of the Hellenic Capital Markets, the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission had issued its decision No. 726/03.08.2015, under which, it had prohibited the short selling of shares and the transactions in any financial instrument which would create or increase a net short position of shares, admitted to trading on the regulated markets of the Athens Exchange and the Multilateral Trading Facility “EN.A.” (for which the Hellenic
Capital Markets Commission is the competent authority), until the 31st August 2015.
On the 31st August 2015, the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission issued its decision No. 728/31.08.2015, according to which the short selling of shares in the regulated market of Athens Exchange and the Multilateral Trading Facility “EN.A.”, for which the competent authority is the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission remains prohibited, regardless of where such transactions are conducted (i.e. on a regulated market, on a Multilateral
Trading Facility or over- the- counter), from the 1st September 2015 (00:00) until the 30th September 2015 (24:00). Such prohibition also includes share sales, which are going to be cleared by purchases within the same day (intraday purchases).
Pursuant to the above mentioned decision of the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission, the
short selling prohibition applies to all depository receipts (ADRs, GDRs) and warrants
representing shares.
It should be noted that the short selling prohibition does not apply to Market Makers conducting
transactions on:
a) The shares which are admitted for trading in the regulated markets of Athens Exchange
and the Multilateral Trading Facility “EN.A.”, for which the Hellenic Capital Markets
Commission is the competent authority;
b) The derivatives of the above mentioned shares;
c) The warrants of the above mentioned shares; and
d) The shares of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and the Index derivatives in which the
above mentioned shares are part of their composition.
The above described exceptions concern transactions with the aim of covering or hedging against
the risk from the transactions conducted in the context of the market makers’ obligations. It should
be noted that, with respect to the Market Makers, the exceptions provided in the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission decision No. 728/31.08.2015, was also included in the first decision
concerning the short selling prohibition.
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