The Lisbon Exchange or as it was known in 1769, the Business Man’s Assembly, could be found in a small tower on the eastern side of the Praca do Comercio. It was a century later that the actual Porto Stock Exchange was created. The Lisbon Stock Exchange went through some bad times in the early 70′s, eventually being closed down but on 28th February 1977 all the transactions of all the securities listed on the Lisbon Stock Exchange restarted. Four years later the Porto Stock Exchange trading sessions began.
Euronext Lisbon was only created in 2002 when Euronext N.V. bought up all Bolsa de Valores de Lisboa e Porto (BVLP) shares. The exchange was amalgamated into the pan-European exchange. The end of 2001 saw BVLP with 65 companies listed on its regulated markets, representing an over all market capitalization of Euro 96.1 billion. Between January and December of 2001, a total of 4.7 million in options and futures were traded on the Bolsa de Valores de Lisboa market.
Five of the companies listed with Euronext Lisbon are Alco – Algodoeira Comercial e Industrial, Beira Vouga – Investimentos Imobiliarios, Investec Consultadoria Internacional SA, CIPAN Companhia Industrial Productora de and Sporting Soc Desp de Futebol.
Portugal has a capitalist economy with a per capita gross domestic product, which is three-quarters of the four largest Western European economies. The entire economy of Portugal is based on traditional industries such as clothing, textiles, beverages, food industries, footwear, glass and glassware. Attention has been focused on services like finance and tourism because of their increasing importance in the economy. Added to that, Portugal has increased the part it plays in Europe’s injection molding industries and automotive sector.
Portugal imports largely from the European Union, which includes countries like Germany, Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom and it also exports a lot of its products there as well. The Purchasing power parity was 200.6 billion pounds in 2005 with a growth rate of 0.4%. The Per capita GDP was $19,000 with agriculture, manufacturing and services contributing mostly. Fisheries and agriculture make up only 4% of the GDP, a low in comparison to the high of 25% in 1960 but on the other hand the tertiary sector has grown immensely as well as the contribution from the building and energy sectors. The Euronext Lisbon maintains a crucial role in the economy of Portugal.
