MEXICO CITY, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The guidelines for a

sweeping overhaul of Mexico's stock market regulations should be

set to go into effect before the end of this year, the head of

stock exchange BIVA said at an event on Tuesday.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The reform, passed by Mexican lawmakers last year, is meant

to lower the barrier to entry for trading on Mexico's two stock

exchanges, the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) and

the smaller Bolsa Institucional de Valores (BIVA). The BMV has

faced a spate of delistings and both bourses lack liquidity.

The overhaul has yet to go into effect as the so-called

secondary laws stipulating the terms of its implementation have

not been fully cleared.

ADDITIONAL CONTEXT

Mexico last saw a local initial public offering in 2020,

with the previous one before that in 2017.

Once the reform goes into effect, it could take around two

years for listings to pick up again, said Vincent Speranza, the

Mexico head of startup adviser Endeavor.

BY THE NUMBERS

The total value of shares traded as a percentage of the

country's GDP on Mexico's BMV in 2023 was just 6%. That compares

to 56% on Brazil's B3 exchange and 87% on the Nasdaq, according

to data compiled by Endeavor.

Mexico's markets reform could open the door for some 4,000

businesses to become eligible to list, Endeavor added.

KEY QUOTES

"We're waiting for the (National Commission for Regulatory

Improvement) to publish the secondary regulation (of the markets

reform)," said Maria Ariza, head of the BIVA exchange. "We're

closing out the year, I would think it would be before then...

and then it would be published in the official gazette."

"You would be surprised at the number of firms that don't

know that they're ready to list and that that's an option for

them," said Deloitte's Jorge Schaar. "That step forward can be

taken, and very soon."