The London Stock Exchange

Having grown up and travelled all over the world to places like Lesotho, South Africa, The Fijian Islands, Thailand, New York, Aberdeen, Stavanger, Houston, and Newfoundland, the world really does feel like home to me.

That much travel breaks down small-minded thinking and geographic, cultural, economic and societal boundaries fall away; a new understanding emerges. A higher understanding that we are “all one” on the planet, and that the way we work and play has an impact around the globe.

The oil and gas industry is well known for also being global and transient, giving the people who work in it a clear understanding that the world is our oyster and we can play in it, in many expressions.

The currency that makes a global energy economy run is money. Money is the exchange that makes it all work and investors around the world congregate at stock exchanges to put their money where their visions take them.

At the heart of the global investment community is The London Stock Exchange (LSE). In November 2014, I had the pleasure of visiting London’s finance district and logically ending up on the doorstep of the London Stock Exchange for an in-depth look at its global operations.

The London Stock Exchange certainly doesn’t look like those old pictures we have in our minds, with traders on the floor, stocks flying high and low and the bust and boom energy that we once knew. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Now the front lobby of the LSE dawns a classic London ambiance with top level professional overtones and an energy that just makes you want to be there.

Yes this is where it all happens, the home of international companies, from more than 115 different countries across the globe, who indulge in the deepest pool of international capital in the world.

Companies come to the LSE because it is at the heart of the world’s leading investment community. It has access to international capital
like no other, and it has a long proven level of sustained liquidity. The LSE is well known for its innovative approach to public offerings and it is the world’s key equity financial centre because it has more international assets under management than any other financial centre in the world.

Initially, geography was the primary reason for the LSE becoming the grandfather exchange of the European World. Accessible by the established old world, the new world and third world markets the LSE grew to become an attractive exchange as clients were able to access overseas investors through widely used and well understood capital raising routes. This is an attractive proposition as companies are able to raise capital through a global investor network, accessing a range of funds such as sovereign wealth funds, global institutional funds, tracker funds, specialist sectorial funds, geographic funds and others.

More international companies choose London for the listing home than any other exchange. Close to 40% of all international companies are listed in London. Not withstanding a strong historical growth regime, the LSE has a tried and tested market competence that allows them to develop a powerful financing infrastructure and an international investment mindset. There are more international oil and gas companies listed in London than anywhere else in the world supporting the industry sectors of exploration, production and distribution. Today, there are currently 20 Canadian businesses listed in London with a combined market cap of $18 billion on the LSE.

What’s most attractive about the LSE is its range of ways to get you to market. The LSE offers a choice of routes to market to cater to all sizes, strategies and development stages of business. There are five main categories of support progressive company growth which include:

• Concept and seed stage of business development
• The Elite program for start ups and early stage development
• The AIM program for company expansion
• The High Growth Segment for consolidation and further capital raising
• The Standard and Premium Main Markets for the diversification of investors, mergers and acquisitions and International expansion

Our company, Publishing World Inc. is now 23 years old. The OGM has become a global brand with energy cities all over the world interested in how they too can expand and capitalize in this era of globalization and technological advancement. When I think about the opportunities that can be harnessed with the support of multi-tier investor strategies like those of the LSE, I think it’s time to go public! Visit www.londonstockexchange.com to learn more.