Trading in shares and equity certificates

Shares can be traded on the Oslo Børs marketplace, or on the alternative marketplace Oslo Axess. Listed companies are subject to the full requirements of a stock exchange listing regardless of which marketplace they are listed on, and extensive market surveillance ensures fair and orderly trading.

Equity certificates
Equity certificates are traded on the Oslo Børs marketplace, and cannot be listed on Oslo Axess. Equity certificates are a particular type of equity instrument issued by Norwegian savings banks, and were previously known as primary capital certificates. Equity certificates have marked similarities to shares. The differences between equity certificates and shares relate principally to the holders’ rights to the issuer's assets and the way in which equity certificate holders can exercise influence on a savings bank's corporate bodies.

Efficient trading system
Both the Oslo Børs and Oslo Axess marketplaces use the TradElect trading system, which is a reliable and efficient trading platform that ensures rapid matching of buy and sell orders. TradElect is a fully proven system that is well known to market participants both in Norway and internationally.

Trading through brokers
Trading takes place by brokers placing orders in the trading system on behalf of their clients. Broking firms must be members of Oslo Børs in order to trade shares and equity certificates on Oslo Børs or shares on Oslo Axess