Nordic countries explore merging stock exchanges into single regional market

Some of the biggest companies and investors in Northern Europe are exploring whether Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland could combine their national stock exchanges into a single regional marketplace in a bid to deepen liquidity and attract more companies to list their shares.

Nordic Compass, a pan-Nordic industry alliance, is examining several options, including the possible consolidation of the four countries’ stock markets and the harmonization of their regulatory frameworks, as reported by Euronews.

The alliance told Euronews that its Capital Markets Track is studying a range of measures aimed at improving companies’ access to financing and strengthening the Nordic ecosystem for businesses at every stage of development, from start-ups and venture-backed companies to those preparing for initial public offerings.

“Nordic Compass' Capital Markets Track is working to improve opportunities to raise capital to support competitiveness across all stages, from start-up, venture, growth and scale-up to IPOs, as well as the ecosystem for Nordic listings,” said Christian Clausen, chair of the alliance’s Capital Markets Track and chairman for the Nordic region at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager and investment company.

“This includes analyses of a range of potential initiatives, including issues related to liquidity. The work is still at an exploratory stage, and no agreement has yet been reached on specific initiatives or conclusions,” Clausen told Euronews.

Nordic Compass was established in May as a pan-Nordic industry alliance bringing together more than 25 companies, foundations and organizations, including Wallenberg Investments, EQT, Nordea, SEB, Nasdaq Nordic, Ericsson, Nokia, Saab, Ørsted and the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

The alliance is chaired by former Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and operates across four areas: capital markets, deep technology, defense and energy.

Its first initiatives are expected to be unveiled at a summit in Gothenburg on November 4 and 5, with the capital-markets proposal reportedly among the measures that could be presented.

However, the outlet notes that the initiative remains at an early exploratory stage, with no concrete agreement yet reached.

The push comes as Nordic pension funds and sovereign investors manage close to $4 trillion and receive more than $175 billion in annual inflows. However, that capital is currently distributed across four separate national markets rather than being concentrated in a single regional marketplace.

A potential consolidation would nevertheless require the cooperation of major financial-market operators that are not directly controlled by Nordic Compass. Nasdaq operates most of the region’s national exchanges, while Euronext owns Oslo Børs and Euroclear plays a central role in the settlement of Nordic securities transactions.

Euronext has indicated that it is open to contributing to the initiative. The company told Euronews that, through Oslo Børs, its securities depositories in Norway and Denmark, Nord Pool and Admincontrol, it already has an established Nordic presence and is “in dialogue with Nordic Compass about potentially contributing to practical measures.”

“Euronext welcomes initiatives aimed at making the Nordic capital markets even more competitive globally,” the exchange operator added.

By Nazrin Sadigova