Celtic Resources Holdings has gained a listing for its shares on the Vancouver Stock Exchange (VSE). This facility was a "parallel listing" to the existing dealing facilities on the Irish and London stock exchanges, the company said. Trading on the VSE will be in the form of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) which are similar to the ADRs used on US securities markets. Each GDR represents one Celtic ordinary share.

Managing director Mr Sean Finlay described the listing as "significant". It is expected to improve the liquidity of the Celtic shares and allow easier access to the North American capital markets.

Celtic also announced results yesterday which showed a loss before tax of £353,607 in 1996. Most of this - £203,176 - was due to the write off of hydrocarbon properties in Ireland and Britain.