The Athens Exchange is cooperating further with FTSE Group, the global index provider, to create a new benchmark index covering the Greek market, the FTSE / ASE 140 Index.

The FTSE / ASE 140 index, which will begin calculation in January 2003, will comprise all the stocks of the existing FTSE / ASE 20, FTSE / ASE Midcap 40 and FTSE / ASE Smallcap 80 indices. The new index will be calculated every trading day in real time, and will be reviewed twice a year in April and October, in line with established FTSE Ground Rules.

Peter de Graaf, Managing Director of FTSE Europe said "FTSE''s methodology is recognised as an international standard in indexing. The addition of the FTSE / ASE 140 to the FTSE/ASE series means that overseas and domestic investors can now measure the performance of the majority of the Greek market, using a recognized global benchmark."

Dr. Panayotis Alexakis, Chairman of the Athens Stock Exchange said "We are pleased to further our relationship with FTSE, as the leading global index provider, to launch the FTSE ASE 140 Index. The index will help raise the profile of all Greek companies to both domestic and international investors."

An independent committee of experienced market practitioners reviews the full FTSE ASE index series every six months in April and October.