The stock exchange is meeting grounds for savers wishing to invest their savings - and firms looking for investments. Another function of stock exchanges is to assist governments in financing their internal borrowing requirements. A stock exchange is, therefore, an indispensable tool for re-financing national debt. But a few conditions must prevail before a stock exchange functions properly. The most important condition is the existence of a healthy, growing economy in the stock exchange's country.
Investors flock to robust economies and shy away from sickly ones.
On the face of it, the Macedonian economy belongs to the latter category. High unemployment, low savings, retarded growth, a gaping trade and payments deficits. But this is an optical illusion. The economy is in much better conditions that most Macedonians would care to admit. The unemployment figures are skewed.