The purpose of the Memorandum is the establishment and promotion of relations of equal and open co-operation between the interested parties, which, among others, consist of the following:

· The possibility of the acquisition of a holding of one stock exchange to the share capital of the other.

· The exchange of information on issues that regard the listing of companies, the trading, clearing and settlement of trading, the final objective of which is the liquidity and competitiveness of the two stock exchanges both in the European and international environment.

· The provision of technological support (know - how), as well as the organizing of training programs for executives of the two stock exchanges, as well as the investing public.

· The provision – exchange of advisory services and know – how on issues of trading and clearing of trading of securities and derivatives.

· The exchange of information on issues of statutory and regulatory frame and their harmonization, in accordance with the Directives of the European Union.

· The alignment of provisions and requirements regarding the dual listing.

· The promotion of the stock markets at national and international level. · The joint undertaking of planning and actions regarding the promotion of a multi party stock market co-operation in the broad geographical region.

In this frame, Mr. Alexakis, the General Manager of the Thessaloniki Exchange Center, Mr. V. Margaris and Mr. Zografski agreed that representatives of the neighbouring stock exchange visit Thessalonica in the next fortnight, in order to establish a committee – in co-operation with the Thessaloniki Exchange Center – that will finalize the schedule of materialization of the Memorandum.

On the basis of the above program, executives of the two stock exchanges will formulate the proposition regarding the frame of the share capital increase of the Skopje Stock Exchange, with a waiver of existing shareholders in favor of Hellenic Exchanges Holding S.A. Group, which the administration of the Athens Stock Exchange will indicate.

In this way, the Greek Capital Market will acquire a holding of 10% to the share capital of the Skopje Stock Exchange.

The committee will determine, among other issues, the schedule regarding the establishment of a work group – consisting of executives of the Athens Stock Exchange, the Thessaloniki Exchange Center and the local Stock exchange –, which will process the provisions and requirements regarding the dual listing of companies.

It is noted that the Athens Stock Exchange has already signed Memorandums of Co-operation with the Stock Exchanges of Belgrade, Sofia, Bucharest, Istanbul and Cyprus, while the said Memorandum completes the development and co-operation program between the capital markets of the region.

The signing of the Memorandum coincided with the sixth anniversary of the operation of the neighbouring stock exchange, which organized an honorary meeting.

In this frame, a ‘round table’ debate was organized, with the participation – apart from the Greek delegation – of representatives of the government of FYROM, the local capital market, as well as financial agencies of the region.

The opening speech was delivered by the Minister of Finance of FYROM, Mr. N. Gruevski, who presented the actions of the neighbouring government, regarding the upgrading of the capital market, while he stressed the importance of the co-operation with the Greek Stock Exchange, which will contribute to the attraction of the interest of foreign investors in Skopje.

In his turn, Mr. Zografski referred to the factors that will secure the stability and security of the Skopje Stock Exchange, while he stressed the importance of its co-operation with the Athens Stock Exchange and the Thessaloniki Exchange Center.

Mr. Alexakis closed the meeting by referring to the importance of the Co-operation of the Stock Exchanges of the Southeastern Europe. He stressed that the Athens Stock Exchange promotes the spirit of co operation between the above mentioned markets, contributing to their harmonization with the stock market developments, which take place in the European capital markets.

A press conference was held after the signing of the Memorandum, with the participation of the local mass media representatives, and a reception followed in honour of the Greek delegation.