In Italy we have a tremendous number of highly profitable small companies, but investors are often wary of investing in them,, says Borsa Italiana CEO Massimo Capuano. By upgrading their corporate governance standards, he believes, they can more readily tap the market.

To list on Star, companies must have market caps of less than E800 million ($700 million), employ at least one full-time investor relations executive, have an internal audit committee and independent directors, tie a significant amount of senior management compensation to share performance through stock options or bonuses, announce quarterly results within 45 days and publish reports in English.

So far, investors seem to be impressed. Trading volume for Star companies increased 9 percent between April and the end of June, compared with a 7 percent decline for the main market. ,The first rule for any star,, says Capuano, ,is please your audience.,