Is the beginning of better times for Frankfurt?

Mitteldeutsche Fahrradwerke, or Mifa, has raised 14m euros (�9.4m; $16.6m) from its initial public offering, which was three times oversubscribed.

And while the Mifa flotation was tiny, market officials hope it presages a revival in the exchange's fortunes - and perhaps an upturn in share prices.

A queue of other modest-sized companies are hoping to list this summer.

Ups and downs

Mifa chose a poor day to launch its shares: the Dax index was down 2% on the morning of its listing.

But the company - a well-known and long-established brand - nonetheless managed a 4% jump in early trading.

Overall, the German stock market has been a feeble performer in recent months, battered partly by gloom about the country's economic prospects.

The mood has infected Deutsche Boerse, the company that owns Frankfurt and Germany's other exchanges.

Last year, Deutsche Boerse curtailed trading hours - previously the longest in Europe - as the result of declining volumes.

Hot? Or not?

Share-trading caught on as a mass pursuit in Germany during the 1990s, when Deutsche Boerse's hi-tech and small-company market hosted a string of hot IPOs.

Follow the ups and downs of the German stock market

Since the slump in hi-tech shares at the beginning of the decade, interest among small investors has slowed sharply.

Now, a handful of other companies - including cash-machine maker Wincor Nixdorf, logistics firm Hapag Lloyd and car maintenance company Auto-Teile-Unger - are waiting for their market debuts.

But the question for many investors is when a company of significant size will take the plunge.