The delisting from the Neuer Markt of the first six penny stocks under the exchange's new rules marks a further step towards raising investor confidence in Frankfurt's embattled growth market.

Last year Deutsche Börse introduced new rules to delist insolvent companies, and those which have a share price of less than €1 and a market capitalisation of €20m ($17.4m) for a specified period of time. Companies have previously been delisted for insolvency but this is the first time that they have been expelled purely on the criteria of the share price and market value.