Helsinki bourse upbeat on 2010 IPO prospects

The number of initial public offerings (IPO) in Helsinki should pick up this year after a long drought, with the most activity in the second half of 2010, the head of Nasdaq OMX Helsinki said on Wednesday. "There is wide interest (in listing) and that includes companies from private equity portfolios and also privately owned companies," President Lauri Rosendahl told Reuters in an interview.

"We are convinced that the trend of higher IPO numbers that have already been seen on the Nasdaq in the United States will spread to Europe and to Finland."

Helsinki, once a hotbed for fast-growing technology companies, has seen its new listings dry up in recent years, with only miner Talvivaara and Aktia bank debuting last year and no firms listing in 2008.

A record 28 companies listed in 1999. There are currently 128 firms listed in Helsinki.

Rosendahl said his optimism was based in part on the willingness of Finnish investors to subscribe in a number of share and rights issues last year as the recession buffeted companies.

"Finnish firms raised around €2bn ($2.9bn) of capital through share issues in 2009... that is promising for the success of new IPOs," he said.

Rosendahl declined to comment on how many listings he expected, or in what sectors, "because we have a small market and it would reveal the companies we have preliminary discussions with".

However, he said he expected the second half of 2010 to be busier than the first six months.

Rosendahl also said he was focused on getting more Finnish companies to list on the bourse's First North list, an alternative marketplace for smaller companies, launched in 2007, which lacks the legal status of an EU-regulated market.

During its first three years, only three Finnish companies have listed on First North, versus more than 100 in Sweden and more than 30 in Denmark.

"Small, growing companies in Sweden and Denmark have actively listed on First North," Rosendahl said, adding one reason for Finland's sluggishness could be its relative immaturity when compared to the older, larger Swedish market.

"We are working hard in order to have more exchange listed companies, including First North, in the next few years than what we have now," he said.