Iceland stock market announces suspension of fin shares

Iceland's government earlier on Monday it was drafting a plan to deal with the financial crisis engulfing the Nordic country as banks agreed to sell off some of their foreign assets.

Business Affairs Minister Bjorgvin G. Sigurdsson told state radio that a draft of the plan was "well on its way".

 

Separately, the chief executive of the Icelandic Stock Exchange Thordur Fridjonsson had also said that the bourse would open on Monday, with close monitoring on shares in Icelandic financial institutions.

 

"That would not be the right reaction," Fridjonsson said when asked if the exchange would be closed, AP reported.

 

Iceland’s banking sector now dwarfs the rest of the economy, leaving the country heavily exposed to the global credit squeeze as it has heavy investment in external markets.

Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde said late Sunday that banks had agreed to sell off some of the foreign businesses.