The market value of all 371 companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), both on the Regulated Market (RM) and on the Multilateral Trading System (MTS), exceeded at the end of the first 11 months of this year the level of RON 301 billion, the highest ever in its history.
Of this figure, RON 287 billion represents the capitalization of the 85 companies listed on the RM, and RON 14 billion is the capitalization of the 286 companies on the MTS.
Since the beginning of the year, the capital market in Romania stood out with its double-digit growth rates at the level of all BVB indices. The BET index, which includes the 20 most liquid companies listed on the RM, increased by 26%, the BET-TR index, which also includes dividends, increased by almost 34%, and the index dedicated to the MTS, BET AeRO, increased by more than 14%.
In November, the capital market in Romania continued its strong upward trend recorded during the year. Only last month the BET index, which includes the 20 most liquid companies listed on the Regulated Market (RM) of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), went up by almost 3.5%. A similar growth rate was recorded at the level of the BET-TR index, which also includes dividends. At the RM level, the most significant growth rate among BVB indices was in the case of BET-NG, which includes energy and utilities companies, with an increase of 4.7% in November alone. Also last month, the BET AeRO index, dedicated to representative companies listed on the Multilateral Trading System (MTS), gained 4.9%.
At the end of the first 11 months of this year, the BET index reached 14,712 points, which means an increase of 26.1% achieved this year alone. The index that includes dividends, BET-TR, closed the last trading session in November at a level of 30,371 points, which corresponds to an increase of 33.9% achieved so far this year. The BET-NG index of energy and utilities companies rose 26.8% to 1,080 points at the end of November, while the BET AeRO index reached 945 points, up 14.2% in the first 11 months of the year.
The strongly positive evolution of the capital market was influenced, among others, by the listing of Hidroelectrica, the largest IPO in Europe so far this year, by the continuation of the Fidelis Government bond program, the increase in the number of investors to a record level of 168,000, as well as the projects carried out at the BVB level, as a market and system operator.
In such a domestic context, the market value of companies listed on the BVB has increased significantly and reached the highest level in history. More precisely, the capitalization of all 371 companies listed on the BVB, both on the Regulated Market and on the Multilateral Trading System, exceeded at the end of the first 11 months of this year the level of RON 301 billion, the highest level in history. Of this figure, RON 287 billion represents the capitalization of the 85 companies listed on the RM, and RON 14 billion is the capitalization of the 286 companies on the MTS. At the cumulative level of RM and MTS, the capitalization of listed companies increased by 43% this year alone. Moreover, in the last six years, the market value of all companies listed on the BVB doubled. Taking into account only the Romanian companies listed on the BVB, their capitalization increased by 127% from RON 97 billion in 2018 to RON 220 billion this year.
Radu Hanga, President of the Bucharest Stock Exchange said: „The companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange came to represent 21.3% of Romania’s GDP in 2022. The value of all companies listed on the BVB is today at the highest level in history, exceeding RON 300 billion. We believe that these data are elements that outline a picture as clearly as possible of economic development, namely that we can only have a strong economy through a strong stock market. We will continue to promote BVB as an essential financing channel for Romanian companies because the results so far show us that we are developing the stock market in the right direction: in the last 5 years alone, 176 financial instruments were listed on the Romanian capital market, with a cumulative value of EUR 10.8 billion.”
Adrian Tanase, CEO of the Bucharest Stock Exchange said: „This year we have received an unequivocal confirmation from the market that there is no business too big in Romania that cannot be listed on the BVB. We have many companies with a solid history in the country and they can become a success story both nationally and regionally, and listing on the stock exchange is a natural stage of development. The market value, taking into account only the Romanian companies listed on the BVB, increased by 127% in the last 6 years, from under RON 100 billion in 2018 to RON 220 billion this year. We are confident in the future development of the market, taking into account the measures we have implemented so far, the perspective of the operationalization of the Central Counterparty, thus creating the prerequisites for the inclusion of Romania on the MSCI watchlist regarding the promotion to the Emerging Market status.”
The total trading value of all types of financial instruments on the BVB’s Regulated Market registered an all-time high at the end of the first 11 months of this year, when it exceeded RON 31.3 billion, equivalent to EUR 6.3 billion. The average daily liquidity this year reached RON 136 million, the equivalent of EUR 27.5 million. The third liquidity indicator represented by the number of transactions exceeded, at the end of the first 11 months of this year, 1.6 million transactions. At the MTS level, the total value of trading with all types of financial instruments was approximately RON 519 million, equivalent to EUR 105 million, which corresponds to an average daily value of RON 2.25 million or EUR 0.45 million. In total, over 176,000 transactions with all types of financial instruments were carried out on the BVB’s MTS in the first 11 months of the year.
Regarding the listings of financial instruments, among the events with a significant impact on the capital market, the Hidroelectrica offer and the continuation of the Fidelis Government bonds stand out. The initial public offering (IPO) of Hidroelectrica (H2O), a leader in electricity production and the main provider of technological services needed in the National Energy System, attracted a total of 9.28 billion RON (about 1.9 billion EUR or 2 billion USD ) for 89.7 million shares representing 19.94% of the total number of shares and became the largest offering in Europe and the fourth largest in the world taking into account the IPOs unfolded so far this year. Hidroelectrica debuted on July 12, 2023, on the BVB’s Regulated Market and is the largest Romanian company listed on the BVB in terms of capitalization.
The Romanian capital market has gained visibility both internationally and domestically. At the end of the first 9 months of the year, the number of investors present in the Romanian capital market reached a new all-time high: 168,000 investors, a 200% increase over five years ago.