Mr. Richard Carleton reports

CSE ENJOYS STRONG START TO 2017 AS TRADING, FINANCINGS SOAR IN FIRST QUARTER

The Canadian Securities Exchange has released its results for the first quarter of 2017, showing exceptional year-on-year growth in share turnover, value traded and the total value of financings completed by CSE-listed companies. The exchange also welcomed 12 new listed companies during the quarter and co-hosted events across Canada, noting a significant increase in investor interest as the operating environment for North American small-cap companies continued to strengthen.

Key statistics

• Trading volume in CSE-listed securities tripled compared with the first quarter of 2016 to 3.03 billion shares.
• The value of CSE-listed securities traded during the quarter reached $940-million, an eightfold increase from the previous year.
• CSE issuers completed 108 financings and raised over $160-million, an increase of almost 300 per cent.

The first quarter also saw the value of trading compared with the market capitalization of all equities (a liquidity measure known as the turnover ratio) rise to almost 8 per cent, which is greater than the current turnover on other Canadian exchanges.

Companies completing financings included The Canadian Bioceutical Corp. ($27-million (U.S.)), Namaste Technologies Inc. ($11.3-million) and Drone Delivery Canada Corp. ($10.9-million). The diversified industries sector accounted for almost half of all capital raised, followed by technology, life sciences and mining.

"We are very happy with results from the first quarter of 2017 as our issuers enjoyed a more welcoming financing environment, and the increase in trading liquidity meant better pricing and risk management opportunities for investors," said Richard Carleton, chief executive officer of the CSE.

The CSE co-hosted a number of events in the first three months of the year, including the PDAC Investor Luncheon 2017 (Toronto), the Marijuana Capital Market Update (Calgary) and the Financing Fundamentals for Micro Caps seminar (Montreal). In the current quarter, the exchange will participate in events in both Canada and the United States, starting with four investment conferences in April. For a full list of coming events where investors can meet CSE staff and learn more about the exchange and its listed companies, please visit the CSE's website.

About the Canadian Securities Exchange

The CSE is home to more than 300 uniquely listed issues covering a broad range of industry sectors. The exchange provides trade execution, smart routing, risk management, compliance and market information services for Canadian-listed instruments.