The Milan Stock Exchange, founded in 1808, is the main stock exchange in Italy with over 300 companies listed. It was publicly owned until 1998 and is now owned by the London Stock Exchange Group, operating with a high degree of autonomy. The exchange is home to many of Italy’s largest corporations, with a combined value of over $1 trillion USD.
The Milan Stock Exchange is the main stock exchange in Italy. It is home to many of the country’s largest corporations, with more than 300 companies in all. The exchange was founded in 1808 by vice-royal decree, and remained a public institution until 1998. In 2007, the private company set up to run the exchange, Borsa Italiana SpA, was bought by the London Stock Exchange Group and is now one from a number of national stock exchanges privately owned by that company.
In the early 1800s, the kingdom of Italy was part of the Napoleonic Empire, so the country itself was led by an appointed leader known as a viceroy. Eugène de Beauharnais, viceroy of Italy in 1808, signed two decrees that year establishing an exchange of products in the city of Milan. The exchange was to serve as a centralized place for trading state notes and other financial products. This was an activity that had previously taken place on a haphazard basis, in various markets across the country.
The Milan Stock Exchange continued as a publicly owned and operated institution for 190 years. During that time, through wars, civil unrest, and government restructuring, it continued to grow, fueled by industries ranging from silk to aviation and telecommunications. Beginning in the 1970s, the success of the Milan Stock Exchange catalyzed the city’s evolution into the center of Italian finance and fueled its growing international importance as a financial center.
At the end of the 20th century, as the culmination of a series of radical economic and financial reforms by the Italian government, the Milan Stock Exchange was privatized. The state-controlled Stock Exchange Board was dissolved and replaced by Borsa Italiana SpA, which is owned by Italy’s major banks. The new private exchange was remodeled after the high-tech, New York-based NASDAQ exchange. In 2007, the Milan Stock Exchange was acquired by the London Stock Exchange Group, which became part of a family of European stock exchanges.
Although no longer a sovereign entity, the Milan Stock Exchange continues to operate with a high degree of autonomy in terms of its management and supervision of Italian stock trading. The duties of the management organization of Borsa Italiana SpA include the establishment and administration of the rules for listing on the stock exchange, transactions and disclosure of companies on the stock exchange, and investors trading shares.
The companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange are practically all based in Italy. Large corporations include the airline Alitalia, the home appliance maker DeLonghi SpA, and the automaker Fiat SpA. The combined value of the companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange is over $1 trillion US dollars (USD).
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