Silanis's Paperless Future ; Small Talk

By ANDREW DEWSON

Predictions about the paperless office have been around since the dawn of the computer age, but if The Independent's offices are anything to go by the elimination of paper is still an awfully long way off. Silanis, a Canadian software developer, is hoping to take us all one step closer to the paperless utopia as it lists on the Alternative Investment Market tomorrow.

The company has a long track record for a new listing on the junior market, beginning trading way back in 1992, and is trading profitably, having been in the black for the past two years. The company believes that a float in London rather than a Toronto or Nasdaq listing will give it better exposure to the European market, which, not surprisingly, is lagging behind its North American cousins when it comes to web commerce.

Silanis has developed software that provides secure and legally enforceable online transactions. Anyone who has bought car insurance or any financial service via the internet will know that most still require a signature and the physical distribution of documents. Using technology developed by Silanis should mean that much of the paperwork still being used is no longer required.

The company has raised [pound]10m of new capital via a placing organised by the broker Canard Adams at 46p per share. The word among small-cap investors is that the placing was significantly oversubscribed and attracted institutional interest from both sides of the pond.

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