Vetalian Combined Stock Exchange

Headquarters:	Xilare
Nationality:	Vetalia
Specialty:	Stock Exchange, Licensing
Storefront:	{{{forum}}}

Overview

The Vetalian Combined Stock Exchange, or VCSE, is both the largest exchange in Vetalia and the planet Xerix. It lists 22,000 companies in 10 industries, which are further subdivided in to 48 supersectors, 126 sectors and 433 subsectors. The net market capitalization as of V.E. 233 is 182 trillion Imperial Solaris.

Within the main index, there are numerous smaller sector indices and several notable "independent" indices that track particular industries. The most influential of these are the Cabilia Superconductor Exchange and the Vetalia City Contractor Exchange.

Trading Hours

The VCSE trading hours are divided in to three classes, Normal, Institutional and Block. These classes are organized based upon the value and quantity of shares traded:

Normal is defined as trades of 1 share to .5% of net shares of a listed company outstanding. There is no limit to the degree of price volatility during Normal hours, namely 9 AM to 5 PM/Monday to Friday. Average volume during Normal hours is 23 billion shares traded, with that number well over 30 billion on options expiration days.

Institutional is defined as trades between 0.51% and 2.99% of shares outstanding. Price volatility is limited to 10% +/-. Institutional trading occurs from 5 PM to 9 PM Monday to Friday. Average volume is 7.5 billion shares, with that number generally approaching 10 billion at the start of each quarter. On the day of a company's earnings report, price volatility is loosened to 15% +/-.

Block is defined as trades greater than 3% of shares outstanding. Price volatility is limited to 7% +/- at all times. Block trading occurs on Saturday from 9 AM to 12 PM, with volume around 2.7 billion shares. Rarely, volume will peak above 3 billion shares, but only during periods of M&A activity.

Exchange Laws

To trade on the VCSE, a company must meet the requirements outlined in the Revised Securities Code of 227. Failiure to meet requirements can result in financial penalties or possible delisting from the exchange. The company stock must also trade at or above 0.50 Solaris/share, or it will be delisted and placed on an "over the counter" exchange.

Traders require both a Vetalian Securities Board License as well as a VCSE license, which costs upwards of Ş15 million and must be renewed once every 10 years. This cost is paid for by their brokerages, as independent traders are not permitted on the floor. Brokerages must themselves recieve licensing from the VSB as well as the Imperial Fiduciary Insurance Office and the Vetalian Expense Accounting Bureau. Licensing does not take a considerable amount of time, given the massive degree of technology implemented in the exchange and government, but is costly. These licenses, along with recurring fees, cost an average of Ş2.10 billion/year.

Technology of the Exchange

The VCSE is a leader in the implementation of advanced technology for ensuring a secure system of stock trading impervious to outside disruptions. There are six massive server complexes in the system capable of handling up to 50 billion shares of volume per day; the VCSE has recently set a goal of increasing capacity to 75 billion shares by the year 240. They are located on VCSE property in Xilare and are protected by literally hundreds of security systems, both within the programs themselves and physical security. A staff of 600 maintain the core servers, in addition to the thousands of smaller grid servers in other major cities and the massive online trading platform known as Vetalinet.

VCSE has announced its intentions of creating a fourth-generation version of its extremely successful sentient-AI security program known as the "Sentient Interdiction System". It will ideally be launched in 239 shortly before the new server complexes come online.

History of the Exchange

Pre-Imperial Era

The earliest exchange founded in Vetalia was the Vetalian Bourse, founded in 73 B.E. in the then-capitol of Xilare. It was small, listing no more than 200 companies, but established Vetalia as a financial power. Over the succeeding decades, the exchange grew and by 20 B.E. was the fifth largest in the world. At this time, the name was changed to the Vetalian Stock Exchange and construction began on what is know known as the Old Exchange Building in Xilare. However, over the succeeding decade, the exchange became swept up in the Nova Bubble (a speculative bubble lasting from 14-10 B.E.) and this proved disasterous financially for the VSE. Wracked by financial scandals, the collapse of around Ş1 trillion in equity wealth, and the onset of a recession, the exchange filed for bankruptcy in 9 B.E..

As part of its settlement, the exchange was split in two; the Vetalian Exchange would focus primarily on industrial, materials, and consumer-goods companies, while the Vetalia Integrated Trading Platform would deal primarily with high-tech companies and financial servics. The VITP's online-trading model is in fact the distant ancestor of the current VCSE model.

The history of the exchange was changed again with the outbreak of civil war in 5 B.E.. Xilare was a battleground between the Imperial and Republican forces, with the two exchanges serving as forward command centers for the Republic. The VITP's trading software was eventually captured when Imperial rebels took the Republican capitol in 2 B.E. Following the end of the war in 1 B.E., the decision was made to keep the exchange located in Xilare, although the capitol would be relocated to the newly founded Vetalia City.

Imperial Era: 1 V.E. to Present

In the aftermath of the war, Vetalia was temporarily beset by a nationwide depression. However, the commitment of the new government to economic growth led to a rash of tax cutting and elimination of large numbers of environmental and worker-protection laws. This brought the economy out of depression, although several more severe recessions occured during the next two decades. With the economy on decent footing by 10 V.E. and reconstruction rapidly nearing completion, the Imperial government made the decision to reopen the two exchanges.

Over the succeeding decades, the Empire reinstituted and in many cases expanded the Republic-era securities laws, and the indices continued to regain their influence. By 20, the value of the stocks listed surpassed that of the old VSE at its peak, and by 37 there were 3,000 companies listed. Strong economic growth in the 40's brought that number up to 5,500, although a spate of M&A activity brought that number back to around 3,900 by 102. In the year 139, the market cap of the Vetalian Exchange was Ş9 trillion and that of the VITP2G (second generation) was Ş7.7 trillion.

The Exchange Wars: 140-178 and the Merger of 179

The year 140 was a watershed in the history of Vetalian equities. The Empire had finally extended its control over virtually the entire planet, and the stock exchanges of the various nations had been assimilated in to the VE or VITP. They were now 1st and 2nd in the world repsectively, with a combined market capitalization of Ş17.1 trillion. Trading volume soared as the economy saw its next major phase of technological advancement, particularly in the areas of computing and space exploration. However, these industries were primarily listed on the VITP, which resulted in its market cap growing far more rapidly than the VE during the 140's. This began the so called exchange wars, which were particularly brutal during the secular bear market of the 160-173 period, with both exchanges constantly vying for more market share and investment; however, this competition also resulted in the deployment of the first generation SIS in 171. This action was taken in response to a hacking of the VITP databases which erased some Ş130 billion in stock transactions.

The SIS proved to be the downfall of the Vetalian Exchange, since it enabled the VITP to save millions per year on security systems and enabled them to invest in improvements in interface and order-processing. Further complicating the situation was a glut in raw materials and industrial machinery after the completion of several large-scale government projects in the 160's, which dampened the performance of most VE companies. Lastly, the 175 revision of the Securities Code revoked the strict segregation of companies between the exchanges, and many industrials joined the VITP. With its market share dwindling and companies leaving, the Vetalian Exchange submitted a formal agreement to merge with the VITP in 178.

The merger remains the most valuable to date, with a net value of 11.3 trillion Solaris. The exchange was renamed the Vetalian Combined Stock Exchange in 179. At the time of completion of the merger, there were 11,500 companies listed with combined capitalization of Ş37.9 trilion.