The traditional regional financial conference „Challenge of Change“ organized by the Association of Pension Fund Management Companies and Pension Insurance Companies (UMFO) and the Zagreb Stock Exchange has concluded, with the last day of the conference focusing on capital market topics, particularly the integration of regional exchanges.
At the panel titled „Are Companies Ready for the Capital Market?“ speakers included Blaž Brodnjak, CEO of Slovenia’s NLB Bank, Mario Klarić, CEO of Professio Energia, and Luka Orešković, partner at Prosperus Invest and Bosqar Invest.
According to Brodnjak, a generational transition is currently taking place; there are founders of companies and successors who need to take over, but he emphasized that these successors are a generation that has „studied abroad and has ambition“ and are more prepared to list companies on the stock exchange.
– IPOs are pursued for exit and growth. So either you want to sell and secure a comfortable future, or you can have 25 percent of something big instead of 100 percent of something outdated, without fresh ideas and plans for the future – stated Brodnjak.
Klarić confirmed that being a member of the stock exchange has numerous advantages, stating that „membership on the exchange provides access to the strongest institutional investors, including pension funds.“ Orešković noted that five years ago, when they were listed on the exchange, the situation was quite different as there were not as many private equity funds, and the IPO was a „logical path“ for them.
The CEOs also reflected on the securities they have issued. Brodnjak stated that they issued green bonds to be „pioneers in the ESG segment.“ Orešković also spoke about his own green bonds, saying that „bonds generate interest“ and that the most successful ones are those that have investor support and continuously communicate with the market and issue new financial products.
– It would be interesting to issue a true green bond instead of these sustainability bonds we have had so far. We would be a true candidate for a green bond, but we have not yet communicated when and if we would do that – added Klarić.
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Necessary IPOs of State Companies
Regarding integration, Orešković stated that each individual market in the region is too small for the development of large companies, and that crossing borders and fostering cooperation between countries is extremely important because „without it, growth is limited,“ and it also limits investors who will rarely invest in companies operating only in one market.
On the second panel of the last day, six CEOs of regional exchanges gathered – Zagreb, Ljubljana, Warsaw, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Bucharest. Tomasz Bardziłowski, CEO of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, emphasized that a way must be found to attract domestic capital and domestic companies, stating that „when you develop your market and create your success, integration comes naturally.“
Marko Bombač from the Ljubljana Stock Exchange called integration a „trend that has been prevailing for some time on the global stage,“ and emphasized the need for simplification as, he said, investors face numerous problems when entering the region and need to be maximally facilitated.
