The shares of Bank of Valletta plc remain the most actively traded equity on the Malta Stock Exchange today following the strong financial results published last week. The share price of BOV closed the day 0.3% higher at €3.66 after trading between a high of €3.70 and a low of €3.62. Investors who purchase shares until tomorrow will be entitled to the final gross dividend of €0.16 per share. Meanwhile the bonus issue of one new share for every 5 held will be eligible to those shareholders as at 7 January 2011.

Trading activity in other equities remained weak. The only other movement today was a 1.7% decline in the share price of HSBC Bank Malta plc. Otherwise, International Hotel Investments plc, GO plc and Lombard Bank Malta plc all closed unchanged.

On the announcements front, this morning MIDI plc confirmed that the Listing Authority approved the Prospectus in connection with a new €20 million share issue to the General Public at a price of €0.45 per share. A further €10 million worth of shares are also being issued to existing shareholders on the same terms. Meanwhile this afternoon Malta International Airport plc published its October traffic statistics revealing another month of double-digit growth in passenger numbers. During the month of October passenger movements increased by 18.4%. Between January and October 2010, MIA registered a 13% increase in passenger movements.

On the bond market, the Treasury has announced the prices of the two new Malta Government Stock issues. Both stocks have been priced at a premium to their par value. The 3.75% MGS 2015 has been priced at 103.50% (YTM: 3.00% per annum) while the 5.25% MGS 2030 has been priced at 101.50% (YTM: 5.13% per annum). Subscriptions take place between Monday 8 November and Wednesday 10 November.

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