(Vienna) Wiener Börse will address new target groups of companies to sustain record inflows of fresh capital in this business year as well. The plan was announced by the two members of the Management Board of Wiener Börse Michael Buhl and Heinrich Schaller at today’s press conference. Foreign companies with a strong focus on Eastern Europe and domestic SMEs will be campaigned for to take their companies public and thus add to the quality and number of listed companies on Wiener Börse.
Wiener Börse expects heightened interest in financing through the capital market from small and medium-sized companies – irrespective of whether a company has experience with venture capital financing – and wants to make access to equity capital financing easier for these companies. “There are a few European models such as the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London and the Entry Standard in Frankfurt. However, our experience in the Austrian market shows that we should exercise a certain degree of caution. Therefore, we are currently investigating interest among our market participants, and only if we reach the appropriate conclusion will we continue on this path. We need the collaboration of the lead managing banks and the willingness of investors to invest in smaller companies as well,” stressed Heinrich Schaller.
Wiener Börse also plans to address foreign companies and encourage listings on the Austrian market as a means of heightening the appeal of the domestic market. “Wiener Börse has been very successful internationally for years in the areas of index management and data dissemination. Thus, in my view it is a logical continuation of our corporate strategy if we open our borders for IPO acquisitions as well,” said Mr. Schaller. The primary focus is on West European countries that are active in Eastern and Southeast Europe. “It is precisely on Wiener Börse that these companies that can enjoy international recognition” said Mr. Schaller, “because in the past few years Wiener Börse has become firmly established among investors as the exchange for Eastern Europe: Meanwhile, 95% of ATX companies are active in the countries of East and Southeast Europe.”
Wiener Börse international leader in financial consulting
Thirty-four financial market projects in 18 countries – this is Wiener Börse’s reference list that shows its leading position worldwide in the field of financial consulting. The key to Wiener Börse’s success was the early start and the selection of specific projects according to Michael Buhl: “Wiener Börse started providing international consulting services for capital markets and their institutions as early as in 1997 and in this manner it was able to gain the first-mover advantage. Moreover, our projects include a strong training component and we concentrate on those in which we can apply our experience.” Wiener Börse is a contractual partner in all projects and provides its know-how, while the project management is outsourced to the partner company Capmex. The largest projects to date include consulting in the area of securities for the Russian exchange MICEX (1998 – 2001), and consulting for the Chinese Security Commission in the area of capital market development and securities oversight (2003 – 2006).
According to the management of Wiener Börse, consulting activities are a perfect supplement for its cooperation strategy with the exchanges of East and Southeast Europe: Consulting and support help the capital markets to strengthen their positions and thus gain significance for the regional economy. The added value generated by the selected cooperation projects benefits all involved parties. Buhl and Schaller mentioned the joint projects with Bucharest and Budapest as examples of successful projects in the area of data dissemination and the dissemination of the Romanian leading index as well as the development of the joint index South Eastern European Index (SETX). “We firmly believe in the principle of regional markets. It is precisely in the smaller economies of Eastern and Southeast Europe that companies are better off being listed on their regional exchanges,” was the unanimous opinion of the two members of the Management Board of Wiener Börse.