The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) <.atg> has been shut since June 29, when the government closed banks and imposed strict limits on withdrawals and foreign transfers to prevent a run on deposits by savers and companies.The Finance Ministry cleared the way for the exchange to resume operations by issuing a decree setting out new trading rules for local investors. There will be no restrictions on foreign investors."After the finance minister signed the relevant decree earlier today, the Athens Stock Exchange board ... decided to reopen the markets of Athens Stock exchange on Monday, August 3," the spokeswoman said.Traders and exchange officials had hoped the exchange would be able to reopen this week after the European Central Bank gave Greece the green light to allow normal operations by foreign investors, with some limits for local investors.Under the ECB-approved plan, local investors would be allowed to buy shares with existing cash holdings, but not to withdraw money from their Greek bank accounts to buy shares.Some market participants had warned that unlimited trading for domestic investors would have posed a serious risk for lenders by accelerating capital outflows.Technical glitches at local banks, which will be required to enforce the trading restrictions, had further complicated the exchange's reopening and many securities traders have taken an early summer holiday during the closure.Trading in all stocks including banking shares will be allowed and volatility limits will be lowered, the bourse spokeswoman said. Volatility limits on the Greek bourse were previously at plus or minus 30 percent. (Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas and Angeliki Koutantou; Writing by Helen Popper; Editing by David Holmes)
