James Hyslop, EBRD Director for Romania, receives the Institutional Investor and Market Development Agent Award by the Bucharest Stock Exchange for the EBRD's contribution to the development of Romania's capital markets.
Bucharest Stock Exchange recognises EBRD role in capital market reform
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was awarded the Institutional Investor and Market Development Agent Award by the Bucharest Stock Exchange for its contribution to the development of Romania’s capital markets. The EBRD was honoured as “the largest and the most active institutional investor in Romania” and a “pillar for capital market reform”.
The prize was awarded by Ludwik Sobolewski, CEO of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, in a ceremony on 2 February in Bucharest marking the inauguration of the new stock exchange year and was accepted by James Hyslop, EBRD Director for Romania.
Mr Hyslop said: “The EBRD is a strong supporter of Romania and we are proud to be at the forefront of efforts to strengthen the country’s capital markets. Our goal is to help make local capital markets a truly efficient and realistic source of long-term capital for Romania’s real economy and its corporate sector in particular. With strong support from the authorities and the private sector we have been advancing this goal through investment, technical advice and support for reforms. This hard work is helping to transform Romania, boost its economy and make it a more attractive destination for investment. Further reforms will open a whole new world of investment.”
As part of efforts to help develop Romania’s capital markets, the EBRD acquired a 4.99 per cent stake in the Bucharest Stock Exchange last year. As a shareholder, the Bank is working to establish the bourse as the preferred exchange for Romanian issuers and traders as well as for investors with an appetite for Romanian stocks and other financial instruments.
The EBRD is also advancing reforms at the exchange through its recently-elected representative on the board of the Central Depository, an institution which ensures clearance and settlement of the transactions concluded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and records the registries of issuers.
In addition, the Bank has invested in the recent initial public offerings (IPOs) of gas and electricity distributors Romgaz and Electrica and has participated in all bank bond issues in the last two years under its dedicated €150 million framework. The EBRD is also working with the authorities to provide advice and support for reforms and is encouraging Romanian businesses to tap into local capital markets.
The Bank is the leading institutional investor in Romania and to date has invested almost €7 billion across 368 projects in the country, with almost €600 million of that total invested in 2014 alone.
Developing capital markets and local currency lending in the countries where the EBRD invests is among the priorities of the organisation. As part of its Local Currency and Local Capital Markets Initiative, launched in May 2010, the EBRD works to enhance the macroeconomic, regulatory and market framework to ensure long-term, sustainable and liquid local currency markets.
