Several million people bought securities through the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange. Photo: Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS
The information bomb exploded right at the beginning of the negotiation. Apparently, the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange, which was subject to severe sanctions a couple of weeks ago, declared bankruptcy. Its shares (and they are also listed, but on the Moscow Stock Exchange) immediately fell. We lost about a third. Private investors took over Validol. After all, several million people bought securities through the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange. “KP” was finding out what exactly happened.
WHERE EVERYTHING BEGAN
Two first instance cases have appeared in the electronic file of arbitration cases. In both cases, the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange appears as a defendant. In one case, a claim from an individual (a certain Konstantin Smirnov from Ufa) was registered, and in the other, the plaintiff was not named at all. This news was quickly spread by news agencies. Then the stock market fell. It seemed to everyone that it was the stock market that wanted to go bankrupt.
Less than half an hour passed when an official statement came out from the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange. They say the company’s financial situation is stable. They did not file claims for their own bankruptcy. After this, stock prices almost completely recovered. And experts began to wonder what happened, who started this whole mess and how they profited from it.
WHAT WAS IT?
The specific plaintiff has not yet been found. Experts believe there may be several reasons. First, there was an error when filing the claim. The plaintiff could have made a mistake on a TIN number and therefore filed a claim against another company, which turned out to be the exchange itself. Secondly, a real claim from a creditor.
– Perhaps some creditors want to declare the debtor bankrupt (SPB Exchange). Naturally, nothing is known about the cause, the severity of what is happening and the details, explain InvestFuture analysts.
Well, the third possible reason is a targeted attack in order to manipulate the market. Traders are leaning towards this option. Knowing inside information, it was possible to play in time, first to reduce stock quotes and then, on the contrary, to increase them. And thus earn a fortune in just a couple of hours.
Now the Central Bank will carry out an investigation, analyze the activity of various participants in the trade and look for facts confirming market manipulation.
SHOULD YOU BE AFRAID OF BANKRUPTCY?
According to most experts, things will definitely not come to the point of bankruptcy of the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange. At least in the next six months to a year. Firstly, because the company does not have debts as such. It is an intermediary that lives off commissions from bidders.
– This is a very popular platform because it specializes in trading foreign securities. And it differed from the Moscow Stock Exchange in that securities were sold there for dollars and euros. No one will screw it up or shut it down. You will have to change your specialization and move to the ruble zone,” economist Denis Raksha told Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda.
In early November, the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange suspended trading in foreign shares because all international intermediaries stopped cooperating with it.
– The exchange is under sanctions. For now it has suspended all agreements and the receipt of new applications,” explains financial analyst Mikhail Belyaev.
BY THE WAY, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO CUSTOMERS’ MONEY?
But the US sanctions themselves will not take effect until the end of January next year. Until that time, there is the possibility of reaching mutual agreements and returning the money to the investors. Also, the exchange’s money and the “physical” clients’ money are in different accounts.
– Any stock exchange in Russia is subject to the strictest regulation of the Central Bank. Assets are always separated: money is exchanged for clients’ money,” explains investment banker Evgeniy Kogan.
That is, even if the exchange goes bankrupt, this should not affect customers’ savings. Another thing is that they are located abroad. And under current conditions, getting them out of there will be problematic.
