Radu Hanga, BVB President: "Half of the increase in market capitalization comes from the listing of Hidroelectrica"

The total capitalization of our capital market had increased by 130 billion lei at the end of the first half of this year, compared to the capitalization at the end of the first half of last year, half of this increase coming from the listing of Hidroelectrica, said Radu Hanga, the President of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), on the occasion of the event that marked one year since the debut of the energy producer at the BVB.

The President of the capital market operator said: "The effect of Hidroelectrica's listing continues to be felt on the capital market. At the beginning of 2023 we had about 130,000 investors. At the time of Hidroelectrica's listing, the end of the first semester of 2023, we had 160,000 investors, and at the end of the first quarter of 2024, a number of 191,000. Now we are waiting for the figures from the middle of the year and we will probably exceed the threshold of 200,000 investors, and the listing of Hidroelectrica had a strong impact. Regarding the total capitalization of the market, at the end of the first semester of 2023 we had a capitalization of 225 billion lei, and at the end of the first semester of 2024 of 355 billion. Of this increase, of 130 billion, half comes from Hidroelectrica".

Radu Hanga added: "When we look at the market, we want to see the presence of institutional investors and also the presence of retail players. I think that the number of retail investors present in the market is a good indicator related to its dynamism, and the number of investors is directly related to the number of transactions. In the middle of last year we had 604,000 transactions, compared to 1,065,000 in the middle of this year. I think that the maximum number of transactions at the Bucharest Stock Exchange was in 2007, somewhere around 1,700,000. Practically, we are on the way to surpassing the best year in the history of the stock exchange in terms of the number of transactions this year".

Regarding investors, there is an increase in the number of active investors compared to the number of investors present at the stock exchange, Radu Hanga also said, adding: "By the end of this year, we expect to add another 40,000 investors, of accounts open, and we will probably exceed the figure of 230,000".

According to the BVB President, the BET index is around the level of 18,500 points, equivalent to a 20% increase since the beginning of this year.

"We are going through a very good period from the point of view of the capital market. We see beautiful companies coming to the stock market, and Hidroelectrica is the best example. We have a very good relationship with our most important partner, the Romanian State (...). We also see an increase in investors' appetite and if we look at the Bucharest Stock Exchange as a stage and if we think that the value of a stage is given by the audience, we can say that the value of the stock market increases with the number of people in the audience. In 2019 we had a historic low of 53,000 investors, and now for the first time we are close to the 200,000 mark".