- AROBS Transilvania Software (AROBS) shares will be included in the FTSE Micro Cap index.
- Romania will thus have, from March 2024, 14 companies included in the FTSE Russell emerging markets indices
- Seven companies are included in the FTSE Global All Cap indices and from 18 March the number of companies included in the FTSE Global Micro Cap indices will increase to seven.
The shares of AROBS Transilvania Software (AROBS), the largest Romanian technology company listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, will be included in the FTSE Russell Emerging Markets Index from 18th of March 2024. AROBS shares will be included in the FTSE Micro Cap index structure, as announced by the global index provider on 16 February following its quarterly review.
Thus, Romania will have 14 companies included in the FTSE Russell Emerging Markets Indices from 18 March (seven in the FTSE Global All Cap Indices and seven in the FTSE Global Micro Cap Indices).
"The Romanian equity market receives an important international reconfirmation of its growth potential with the latest decision by FTSE Russell to include a new company in the stock market indices dedicated to emerging markets. We note that the number of Romanian companies present in the FTSE Russell indices continues to grow, which is a positive signal for retail and institutional investors and companies listed or preparing for listing. With the inclusion of AROBS, as of 18 March 2024, Romania will be represented in the FTSE Russell emerging markets indices by 14 companies operating in sectors representative for the country's economy", said Radu Hanga, President of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
"The increase in the number of companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange in the FTSE Russell indices reflects the development of the Romanian capital market through an increased level of interest and confidence from international investors in Romanian companies, the local business environment and the country's economy as a whole. We are continuing our capital market development projects, such as the implementation of the Central Counterparty, the Issuer Market Maker program, the increase in the number of analysis reports published on the BVBResearch.ro platform, the attraction of new issuers and investors, and I am convinced that together with the 14 companies present since March in the FTSE indices we will further stimulate investor interest", said Adrian Tanase, Bucharest Stock Exchange CEO.
AROBS is a creator of customised solutions for international partners and software products for more than 11,000 customers in Europe and Asia. The company is present in 11 locations in Romania and eight abroad, and AROBS' 1200+ specialists are building the solutions of the future in Automotive, Embedded, Medical, Space, Marine, Life Sciences, Travel, IoT, Fintech, Enterprise, and Intelligent Automation.
“We are thrilled that with AROBS inclusion in FTSE Russell, the exposure of Romanian entrepreneurial companies to global investors is increasing. Today's announcement delivers on the promise we made to the investors at the transfer to the Main Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange to have AROBS shares included in the global reference indices. This inclusion opens up new opportunities regarding the company's growth and visibility on global markets, increasing liquidity and diversifying AROBS's shareholding. The next target is the inclusion of AROBS shares in the local indices' universe, BET, on which we are currently working intensely,” stated Voicu Oprean, founder and CEO of AROBS.
The company was listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange at the end of 2021, following the largest private placement of shares on the AeRO market, which attracted RON 74.2 million (EUR 14.8 million) from investors. AROBS has been present on the main market of the BVB since September 2023.
Romania is represented by the shares of seven companies in the FTSE Global All Cap indices, namely Banca Transilvania (TLV), Hidroelectrica (H2O), MedLife (M), Nuclearelectrica (SNN), OMV Petrom (SNP), One United Properties (ONE) si Teraplast (TRP).
Also included in the FTSE Global Micro indices are the shares of six Romanian companies: Aquila (AQ), Bittnet Systems (BNET), Bursa de Valori Bucuresti (BVB), Conpet (COTE), Purcari Wineries (WINE) and Sphera Franchise Group (SFG).
Romania's promotion by FTSE Russell in September 2020 to Emerging Markets has opened the way for the capital market to a much wider investment universe, and as the number of investors grows, so does the demand for Romanian assets, which will also translate into a better valuation of listed companies and therefore an increase in the local market capitalization.
About Bucharest Stock Exchange
BVB, a fundamental institution for the capital market, is the only securities market operator in Romania. BVB, listed on its own market since 2010, is part of the BVB Group which also includes the Central Depository, the institution responsible for the register and settlement operations in Romania; in October 2019, the central counterparty, i.e. CCP.RO, was established as an institution that is to take up the clearing of securities transactions in Romania and to contribute to the re-launching of the derivatives market. BVB manages two separate markets, the Regulated Market and the Multilateral Trading System, which lists a variety of financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, fund units, certificates, structured products, preferential rights. By the end of 2023, the two BVB markets had listed 371 companies with capitalization in excess of 300 billion lei, the highest level in history. The main market index, BET, closed 2023 with a nearly 32% advance and the BET-TR index with an advance of nearly 40% compared to the start of 2023. Average daily liquidity in 2023 for all the financial instruments was 154 million lei, a 60% increase over the preceding year and a record value. Another record value in 2023 was the number of retail investors that reached 179,000 at the close of December. The dynamics of recent years demonstrates that the BVB is able to sustain the capital that entrepreneurs and state institutions need. The efforts of BVB and its stakeholders to modernize and develop the capital market in Romania have also been acknowledged by its promotion to the Secondary Emerging Market status in 2020, by the global FTSE index provider, Russel. By the end of 2023, 13 Romanian companies had been included in the FTSE indices for emerging markets. More information at www.bvb.ro.