TSE (Tallinn) Market Overviews
Esto1nian Stock Market Overview02/01/2006-06/01/2006
New year year brings new opportunities and challenges. 2006 started optimistically on Estonian Stock Market; OMX Tallinn index rose by 1.97% from 664.08 to 677.19. The overall turnover in Estonian stock market was €11,789,272.81 which was achieved thruogh 1409 deals. During December 2005, a substantial part of the overall turnover was taken by AS Tallink Grupp (TAL1T), which took about a half of the turnover this week with €5,319,110.65. A kind of magic plays in the Estonian stock market, and it is associated with number 3: 6 shares went up, the same number went down and the value of 3 stocks was stable.
AS Merko Ehitus (MKO1T) is a company with a long experience in the field of building, design and real estate development. They started this year with 4.93% increase in stock value. This increase is not caused by the company’s good performance, but is very likely to be triggered by the manipulations in Estonian stock market. This week UAB Comliet sold its stake in Telegrupp AS, whose shares were acquired on 4 July 2002 by UAB Comliet together with Merko Ehitus. After this successful transaction, a part of Telegrupp AS owned by AS Merko Ehitus became more valuable. Generally, stocks of Merko Ehitus should be attractive to investors, but they better be careful; a long-term investment could be unprofitable, as the stock value changed by 11.27% to the negative side. However, as they say: “a good beginning is a half of the work”.
AS Kalev (KLV1T) experienced a 14.48% decrease in the price of its stocks this week. Everyone knows that this company produces tasty confectionery, and to produce sweets, you obviously need sugar. Unfortunately, European Commission imposed a sugar fine of EEK 715 mln on Estonia for allegedly hoarding around 91,000 tons of sugar at the time when Estonia joined the European Union. This fine has to be paid during four years. AS Kalev is supposed to pay EEK 130 mln of it, as the government sued this amount of money from the company for hoarding 15,600 tons of sugar. The case will be treated in the Court of Estonia. It can be predicted that until Kalev solves all its problems, the stock is not the best investment in Estonian stock market.
AS Tallinna Vesi (TVEAT), Tallinn’s largest water company, made an 8.23% increase in stock value this week. The most probable reason is that there is a conflict associated with the institutions supervising the activities of water companies. It is said that the current municipal department for communal services and agency set up by the Tallinn city government do the same task. What’s more, the latter can’t make an impact on AS Tallinna Vesi. So as a proverb says: “Where two are fighting, the third wins”. In our case that third is AS Tallinna Vesi. Additionally, the company was popular among investors in 2005. And if you bought some shares of AS Tallinna Vesi the previous summer, when it came to Estonian stock market, now you would have approximately €5 more than before from every share. This company is still a good decision to invest money.
By Linas Liktorius,
Andrii Shekhirev
