The Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) operates based on the Law on Public Trading in Securities of August 21, 1997 (as amended), under the supervision of the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission. The following instruments are traded on the Warsaw Exchange: shares, bonds, subscription rights, allotment certificates, investment certificates, and derivative instruments: futures, options and index participation units

Capital market traditions in Poland go back to 1817, when the Warsaw Mercantile Exchange was established. The Warsaw Stock Exchange began activity in its present form on April 16, 1991, starting from the very beginning with electronic paperless trading.

The WSE is a joint-stock company created by the State Treasury. Its capital amounts to PLN 41,979,000 split into 59,970 registered shares of PLN 700 each. Currently, the WSE has 38 shareholders, including brokerage houses, banks, a listed company and the State Treasury.

The task of the WSE is to organise public securities trading. The Exchange provides a concentration of buy and sell offers in one place and at one time, which allows prices to be determined and transactions to be concluded.

The trading system used on the WSE is order-driven, which means that prices of securities are determined based on buy and sell orders. To set the price for a given security, a list of buy and sell orders is prepared. To improve the liquidity of listed securities, brokerage houses may perform the function of a market maker (animator), placing, based on the relevant agreement with the Exchange, buy and sell orders in the public order book.

Trading sessions at the Exchange are held Monday-Friday from 10.00 a.m. to 4.20 p.m. Futures contracts are quoted from 9.00 a.m. to 4.20 p.m.

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