Mr. Richard Carleton reports

CSE REPORTS RECORD ISSUER TOTAL, MARKET CAPITALIZATION AS GROWTH CONTINUES IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2019

The Canadian Securities Exchange has released performance highlights from the first quarter of 2019, including new records for aggregate CSE issuer market capitalization and the value of financings in a 12-month period. The exchange also saw its total listed securities surpass 500 during the quarter as cannabis, mining and technology companies continued to choose the "exchange for entrepreneurs" as their primary listing to facilitate financing activity and superior trading liquidity for their shareholders.

Key statistics:

• Trading volume in CSE-listed securities was 6.7 billion shares, an increase of 6.2 per cent compared with the fourth quarter of 2018.
• The value of shares traded in CSE-listed securities totalled $6.3-billion, up 7.8 per cent from the previous quarter.
• Financings completed by CSE issuers totalled $716.7-million in the quarter and, for the 12 months through March 31, set a new record of $5.2-billion, up 168 per cent from the 12-month period a year earlier.
• The CSE finished the quarter with 500 listed issues, up 16 per cent from the end of 2018 and higher by 47.5 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2018.
• The aggregate market capitalization of CSE issuers rose 62.8 per cent from the previous quarter to $25.9-billion.

Cannabis and related issuers remained the most active sector for capital raising in the first quarter, closing on gross proceeds of $550.8-million through 81 financings, or 77 per cent of all capital raised by CSE issuers. Companies in the diversified industry category raised $92.3-million and mining issuers completed financings totalling $39.8-million (13 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively).

Among financings conducted during the quarter were those by Cansortium ($53-million (U.S.)), Vireo Health ($68.6-million) and Flower One Holdings ($50-million).

The records set for aggregate market capitalization and financings on a trailing 12-month basis reflected not only the strong growth in issuer count, but also a general rebound in share prices that began in January and took the CSE Composite Index 36.3 per cent higher in the first three months of the year.

CSE marketing initiatives during the quarter included CSE Talks events in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa as well as a major presence at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto, where the exchange partnered on events that collectively welcomed over 2,000 guests. CSE's West Coast team also embarked on a successful road show in California that included stops in Santa Monica and San Francisco and involved a delegation of capital markets professionals and investors.

In the current quarter, the CSE will participate in 14 events, mostly as a partner or sponsor/co-sponsor. Themes include blockchain (thought leadership partner at Blockchain Revolution Global; Toronto, April 24 to April 25), e-sports (co-sponsor of eSports in the Capital Markets; Toronto, April 24) and cannabis (Arcview Vancouver Investor Forum; Vancouver, April 23). The CSE will also participate in Arcview conferences planned for Chicago, New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles through February, 2020.

Other events on the CSE calendar include a return to Israel on May 12 for the Tech Day conference in Tel Aviv, where small-cap investors and prospective issuers will spend a full day learning about listing on the CSE and the OTCQB and QX markets, as well as investment opportunities in Israeli technology companies. The event will mark the CSE's sixth visit to Israel in the past two years.

The CSE marketing team is taking full advantage of the space and location afforded by the exchange's new office at Toronto's First Canadian Place, one of its initial moves being to build a top-tier podcast studio CSE issuers can use to record discussions exploring corporate developments, entrepreneurship and industry trends. The exchange's flagship podcast, titled HashtagFinance, is now available on a variety of popular platforms, including iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Spotify and Google Play. More information on the HashtagFinance podcasts as well as a list of feature interviews and videos can be accessed on the CSE's website.

Development of the CSE's blockchain-enabled clearing and settlement facility remains a priority, and, during the quarter, the CSE hired Andrew Grovestine, a highly accomplished technology expert who has run back-office operations and worked as a technology consultant and project manager in the capital markets for over 20 years. Mr. Grovestine will head the exchange's internal project team and co-ordinate closely with third party developers as the platform advances toward external testing.

"The rapid increase in issuers calling the Canadian Securities Exchange home is an undeniable vote of confidence in the trading and capital-raising environment we offer growth companies of all sizes," said Richard Carleton, chief executive officer of the CSE. "Strong trading liquidity and the efficiency of conducting financings as a CSE issuer are two aspects of our operations that we receive frequent feedback on, and the industry remains excited about our clearing and settlement facility. The CSE's excellent start to 2019 maintains the momentum we have built in recent years by responding to the needs of issuers, investors, financial professionals and other parties, both in Canada's financial community and on a global level."