Yerevan, April 27 /Mediamax/. The Swedish OMX Group will purchase the Armenian Stock Exchange and the Central Depositary.

As Mediamax was told in the press service of the Armenian Central Bank, the corresponding memorandum was signed today by the Armenian government, the Central Bank of Armenia and the OMX Company. The deal will be ratified after signing the corresponding agreement.

The decision of OMX on the participation in the development of the Armenian capital market was welcomed today by the Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, who promised on behalf of the government the support of the country in reaching the set goals.

Chairman of the Armenian Central Bank Tigran Sarkisian informed that the cooperation with OMX has been already in process for a year. “The participation of the given company in the Armenian market of capital will assist in reaching our long-term goals”, Tigran Sarkisian noted.

The General Executive Director of OMX Magnus Böcker, in his turn, stated that the acquisition of the Armenian Stock Exchange and the Central Depositary will increase the efficiency of their work and will help to use the experience, achieved in Armenia, for entering other new markets of capital.

The Swedish OMX Group was established in 2003. OMX is the operator of Nordic Exchange, which controls about 80% of the securities market of Scandinavia and Baltic states. The gain for 2006 made $516,7mln, the net profits - $121mln, the capitalization - $2,5bln.

The company provides technical support to 60 exchanges in 50 countries of the world.