CSE Grows at Record Pace in 2018; Trading Volume, Financings, Listings Hit New Highs

TORONTO - January 15, 2019 - The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) today reported performance data for 2018 featuring record levels for trading volume, trading value, number of listings and capital raised by CSE issuers. The CSE added 123 new issuers during the year, more than twice the 56 issuers that joined the market in 2017. A total of 28 issuers came to market through initial public offerings, also a new record for the exchange.

Key Statistics

• Trading volume in CSE listed securities was 28.6 billion shares, an increase of 64% compared to 2017;
• The value of shares traded in CSE listed securities totaled $20.3 billion, rising 160% on the year;
• Financings completed by CSE issuers climbed 276% to $5.22 billion;
• The CSE finished 2018 with 462 listed securities, up 34%.

Cannabis and related companies continued to lead activity on the CSE in 2018, accounting for 60.5% of trading volume. Technology companies were the second most active at 18.9%. Mining companies accounted for 11.8%.

Cannabis companies also led the way in raising capital, with issuers grossing a total of $3.99 billion through 270 financings. The largest cannabis financings in 2018 were Curaleaf Holdings (CURA; $520 million), Acreage Holdings (ACRG.U; $416 million) and Harvest Health & Recreation (HARV; $288 million). Mining companies raised a total of $217 million, completing 221 transactions. Financial institutions from North America, Europe and Asia featured prominently in many of the larger cannabis financings, playing a much more notable role than in 2017.

The CSE made significant progress with development of its blockchain-enabled clearing and settlement facility during the year. Potential benefits of the facility include shortened clearing times (which should reduce related dealer capital requirements), enhanced document management and lower back-office costs. Testing the system with the dealer community will be a key strategic priority in the coming year.

Looking to 2019, the exchange will continue to expand teams working on issuer compliance to support the increasing number and scale of companies choosing the CSE for their primary public listing. New marketing initiatives will also be introduced to help bring issuers to the attention of the financial community. The CSE debuted Public Entrepreneur, a publication profiling a mix of recent and long-standing issuers in each issue, in March 2018. Plans call for extending the brand across more digital media channels in 2019, including podcasts and video.

In the first quarter of 2019, the exchange will be moving its headquarters to First Canadian Place in downtown Toronto. Featuring 16,000 square feet of space, the new location will support a host of additional exposure opportunities for CSE issuers, including a market centre to celebrate trading debuts and other important issuer achievements.

"The CSE's exceptional growth in 2018 reflects our ongoing commitment to anticipating the needs of our issuer base and continuing to provide a path to the lowest-cost public capital in North America," said Richard Carleton, CSE Chief Executive Officer. "It was clear as the year went on that efforts to convey the value of a CSE listing to entrepreneurs in the US, Europe, Israel and other jurisdictions were having the desired result, as we received listing applications from Canada and abroad at a rate never before seen. Given the size of our new issuer pipeline, and continued investor interest in the exchange's listed companies, the CSE is positioned to achieve a series of important milestones in 2019."

Contact

Richard Carleton
CEO - Canadian Securities Exchange

(416) 367-7360, [email protected]