In a speech published for the 30th anniversary of the Cyprus Stock Exchange, the Cyprus Ministry of Finance highlighted the government's ongoing efforts to privatize the exchange. The minister presented privatization as a strategic step to strengthen the exchange's viability and outward orientation, making it more flexible and competitive and better able to develop new services, attract strategic partners and adopt practices used in more mature European and international markets. The speech placed that message in the context of the exchange's development since its launch in 1996. It recalled the 1999 to 2000 boom and collapse, followed by reorganization and modernization that aligned the market with European Union standards by Cyprus's accession in 2004. The exchange now operates both the regulated market and the market for emerging companies, and privatization was linked to potential upgrades including modern technology and automation, new products and greater investment activity, as the European Union discusses deeper capital markets integration and reduced market fragmentation.