As per the decision of FTSE Russell, published today, on the 29th of September, the capital market of Romania has been put by this organisation on the list of countries that have a substantial potential to be upgraded to the status of the Emerging Market in short or medium term perspective. In the case of Romania, the upgrade will depend on the progress as regards the market liquidity and the presence on the market of largest companies with significant individual liquidity.

“Romania being on the Watchlist and now on a clear route towards Emerging Markets is one of the most defining and important events in the whole history of the Romanian capital markets. It is the effect of the tremendous progress in reforming the market infrastructure, according to the goals set in the program for the removal of barriers impeding the normal development of the market, and in the business strategy of the BVB, which must be implemented in a decisive way. We want also to express our commitment to change further the landscape of the Romanian capital market and to thank our partners – BVB shareholders, Members of the BVB, EBRD, FTSE, Coalitia pentru Dezvoltarea Romaniei and other institutions of the political and economic environment in Romania and worldwide”, said Lucian Anghel, President of the Board of Governors of the BVB.

“We are thinking positively about the future, because we have been defining in the right way processes that must have been started and changes that must have been implemented, and, moreover, we had a capability and knowledge to prioritise the execution and not to allow severe mistakes to happen on that road. It was just recognised by one of the most respected global agencies rating the markets. There are still meaningful problems to be solved, and I hope that the pace of this process, where BVB often needs a constructive cooperation of other institutions, will be fast” – said Ludwik Sobolewski, CEO of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Every September, the FTSE Classification Committee meets to decide upon country classification. If a market meets all the criteria, it enters on a short list to be promoted to a higher category. Besides FTSE Russell, three other widely recognized international institutions – MCSI (USA), S&P Dow Jones (USA) and STOXX (Switzerland) – are currently rating the Romanian capital market. The criteria to be met and analysis process are relatively similar and relate mainly to the value of transactions and size of listed companies, as well as the fast access to the capital market for investors and how they can buy and sell shares.