Natasha Doff

Russia’s two main stock exchanges, Micex and RTS, formally closed their merger on Monday, clearing the way for a string of important market reforms aimed at luring more companies to list in Moscow.

Monday’s ceremony furthered a process of unifying the two bourses to create a more transparent, unified platform with a market capitalization of $4.5 billion for f loatation in 2013.

“In addition to creating a single home for the market, the merged exchange will act as a catalyst for continued improvements in Russia’s financial infrastructure,” Micex president Ruben Aganbegyan was quoted by the bourse’s website as saying.

For now stocks will continue to be listed in ruble format on the Micex and dollar format on the RTS, a statement on the RTS website said.

The closure of the merger has cleared the way for several major reforms to the unified exchanges, starting on Monday with the migration of the RTS cash equity business to Micex.

The next big change will come on January 1, when a law signed by the president earlier this month on creating a domestic central depositary comes into force. This will eventually open up the exchange to a bigger pool of foreign investors, who are currently prohibited from dealing in local shares.

The reforms are aimed at improving Russia’s investment climate and luring back the dozens of Russian companies who prefer to list their stocks in London, Aganbegyan told Bloomberg.

Mark Rubinstein, head of research at IFC Metropol investment bank said the merger was already having the desired effect.

“The perception of the merger in the professional community is quite positive,” Rubenstein told The Moscow News. “Risk factors have always been the major pitfalls of the Russian stock market in the eyes of foreign investors and I hope that this will change their mood.”

The merger comes amid rising capital f light and volatility on both exchanges due to perceived political instability in Russia and the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone.

Oleg Nikishenkov contributed to this report.

http://themoscownews.com/finance/20111219/189302835.html