Five new BVB listed companies will be included in FTSE Russell indices dedicated to Emerging Markets on March 21

Starting with March 21, five new Bucharest Stock Exchange listed companies will be included in the FTSE Russell index series dedicated to Emerging Markets: MedLife (M), Purcari Wineries (WINE), Conpet (COTE), IMPACT Developer & Contractor (IMP) and Sphera Franchise Group (SFG). The inclusion of the companies was decided by the global index provider following the quarterly review announced on Friday, February 18. Thus, starting with March 21, M shares will be part of the FTSE Global All Cap indices while WINE, COTE, IMP and SFG will be included in the FTSE Global Micro Cap indices. At the same time, Nuclearelectrica (SNN), already included in FTSE Global All Cap indices since September 21, 2020, will move from Small Cap to the Mid Cap category.

‘The number of companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange that are included in the FTSE Russell indices is constantly growing, which we are happy about and which reflects the good evolution of both the market as a whole and the shares of these companies. Thus, in a more and more interconnected world, Romanian companies are increasingly attracting more attention from the global institutional investors. The FTSE decision also diversifies the sectors in which we are present in these indices ranging from real estate, transportation, medical services, foodservice to banking and industry. I am convinced that together with all the 11 companies that are now included in the FTSE indices, we will further support the interest of institutional investors’, said Adrian Tanase, CEO of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

MedLife is the largest private healthcare services provider in Romania, founded in 1996 and listed on the exchange in December 2016, following an IPO worth RON 230mn.

‘We are the leader in the market of private medical services in terms of turnover, network size, and in the perception of consumers as a provider of quality and care for the patient, and since 2016 also a company present on the capital market. After5 years from the listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, when we started from a capitalization of RON 534 mmn, we have now reached RON 2.9 bn and a yield of approximately 400%, and only if we refer to last year, we notice a doubling of the amounts of our investors. Economically, it turns out that listing a local company with Romanian founders can dominate a market segment and can become a sustainable model for Romanian capital as a whole. We are more driven than ever to continue the strategy of enlargement and development and to become a relevant player for the whole region of South Eastern Europe. The inclusion in the FTSE Russell indices comes as a confirmation of a strong track record of the MedLife Group supported by the consistency with which we have met our strategic objectives, doubled by the intense activity related to acquisitions and the successful integration of new businesses. This is an important achievement for us, especially since the liquidity criteria of the international index provider FTSE are extremely demanding’, said Mihai Marcu, President and CEO of MedLife.

Purcari Wineries is a top wine producer in Central and Eastern Europe, listed on the Main Market since February 2018, following an IPO worth RON 186 mn.

‘The inclusion of Purcari Wineries PCL in the FTSE Russell Global Micro Cap Index reaffirms our ambitions for growth and expansion as a publicly listed company and it is a stepping stone towards fulfilling our vision of becoming the undisputed champion of the wine industry in the Central and Eastern Europe. This is an important achievement which further increases the exposure of Purcari Wineries Group to the global investor community, as well as of the CEE region as a place to invest in’, said Eugen Comendant, COO Purcari Wineries.

Conpet is a listed company since 2004 and its core busines is the transportation through pipelines and by rail of the domestic and imported crude oil, rich gas, condensate and liquid ethane to the refineries in Romania.

‘The inclusion of Conpet in the FTSE Russell indices for Emerging Markets confirms the value of our company on the Romanian capital market and demonstrates the attractiveness of Conpet shares among investors. It is the result of an efficient management, which met the qualitative and quantitative standards imposed by BVB, managed the business correctly and efficiently and managed to ensure a high level of transparency and visibility among shareholders and investors. The inclusion in the FTSE index makes us more confident in our efforts for a sustainable business development, in the context of a dynamic, ever-changing market’, said Dorin Tudora, CEO of  Conpet.

With 30 years of experience on the market, IMPACT Developer & Contractor is a company founded with 100% Romanian capital and the first real estate developer listed on the exchange, in 1996.

‘IMPACT’s main objective for 2022 is to increase the free-float and the attractivity of our shares at the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Meeting the FTSE Russell criteria and the inclusion in the FTSE Global Micro Cap index represents an important validation of the efficiency of our development strategy and of the actions we took in implementing the best corporate governance and investor communication practices. We are very glad that the investors trust IMPACT, which was proved at the Capital Increase in January and we are determined to enhance our company’s value on the long term’, said Constantin Sebesanu, CEO IMPACT Developer & Contractor.

Sphera Franchise Group shares, one of the most important foodservice operators in Romania, started trading on the Bucharest Stock Exchange in November 2017 following an IPO worth RON 285mn. The company manages restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands and is the first foodservice operator listed on BVB.

‘The last two years were marked by challenges for Sphera Franchise Group. In spite of this, we are proud to be coming out of the pandemic stronger than ever. We have a solid development plan as, this year, we will open the 100th KFC restaurant in Romania, our results are improving from quarter to quarter and our cash position is strong. Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, we have not forgotten about the responsibilities we have towards our shareholders and thus we have focused on continuously improving liquidity of SFG shares, transparency and the way we engage with our investors. The FTSE Russell decision to include SFG shares in the emerging market index is thus the recognition of all the efforts our team has done in the last two years. We would like thank all our shareholders for their trust in Sphera and in our ambitious plans for the future’, said Calin Ionescu, CEO at Sphera Franchise Group.

The global index provider FTSE Russell announced also the exclusion from the FTSE Global Micro Cap indices of the Bittnet Systems (BNET) shares, effective with March 21.

Romania’s upgrade by FTSE Russell on September 21, 2020 among the Emerging Markets, has opened the way for the local capital market to a wider investment universe and, with the increase in the number of investors, the demand for the assets listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange has increased. At the end of the trading session of February 18, 2022, the market capitalization of all companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange was RON 247 bn (EUR 50 bn), 64% above the level from September 18, 2020, prior to the effective upgrade to Emerging Markets status.