Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

ABC’s imminent member-ship of London’s thriving stock exchange will open a window for Otkritie to a massive global market, giving it access to major international companies. It is thought that Otkritie has already identified some early potential targets for its clients.

Andrey Babenko, MD of Otkritie, said: “We will maintain ABC’s clearing business and supplement it with a range of new services and products available to Otkritie.”

ABC’s membership of the London Stock Exchange (pictured right) will enable the firm to expand its own operations, take on model B clearing and become a fully fledged brokerage.

The Financial Services Authority has already granted ABC permission to extend its clearing activities to dealing operations – as agent and principal – and to provide asset management and investment advisory services on all principal types of security.

These new capabilities will provide ABC – already one of the leading UK clearing companies – with the opportunity to ramp up services fast, giving company revenues a massive boost after spending the last 18 months in corporate purgatory.

“Revenues will increase 100-fold at least in the first year,” said ABC’s MD, Mike Manthorpe.

“ABC has been a bit dormant recently. CFT put it on the market in November 2005 and a sale fell through last September. We had no new clients but we still have them out there and will start bringing them in once we have LSE membership.

“This is expected to be complete in about two weeks and we will expand as business comes on board. We’ll keep an office in Colchester but also plan to open up in London.”

Otkritie’s turnover in 2006 topped $50bn – seven per cent of Russia’s total stock exchange turnover. It is a leader in the world’s power markets.