Gong marks 95th anniversary Save the Children

Save the Children celebrates her 95^th anniversary at Beursplein 5. Entrepeneur, TV host and ambassador of the foundation, Frits Huffnagel, sounds the gong for children in need.

Save the Children is the world’s leading independent children’s rights organization with 14.000 local aid workers active in 120 countries. Save the Children saves the lives, the dreams  and the future of children through healthcare, quality education and better living conditions.

For more information: www.savethechildren.nl

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Gong ceremony marks the listing of Rabobank Certificates

Stichting Administratiekantoor Rabobank Certificaten visits Euronext Amsterdam to celebrate the listing of its Rabobank certificates.

Two long-standing members of the Rabobank who have on many occasions attended the annual meeting for holders of Rabobank Member Certificates, Cor Martens, former administrator/budget manager at Hoogovens, and Bert Veldman, a private investor formerly employed as a biochemist in the area of agricultural pet food and health for the cooperative compound feed industry, sound the gong in honour of the listing. They are accompanied by some other members/holders of Rabobank Certificates and members of the managing board of the Stichting AK Rabobank Certificaten.

For more information: www.rabobank.com

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Winner 2013 SNS Asset Management Investment Expert Poll sounds gong

Winner of the 2013 SNS Asset Management Investment Expert Poll, Hans Slomp, manager ASN Duurzaam Aandelenfonds, sounds the gong at Beursplein 5.

The SNS Investment Expert Poll is held monthly since 1994. Every year a special end-of-year-poll is organised. Of the 101 participants, Slomp turned out best stockpicker.

For more information: www.snsreaal.nl

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Gong marks opening Amundi Nederland in Amsterdam

Amundi, Europe’s N°1 asset manager with over EUR 750bn in assets , today announces the opening of Amundi Nederland in Amsterdam. CIO and Deputy CEO of Amundi, Pascal Blanqué, sounds the gong.

With over 10 years of experience in Benelux through its presence in Brussels and Luxembourg, Amundi manages over € 2.3 bn. in assets on behalf of Dutch investors. 

Blanqué comments: “The Netherlands offers a mature investment market with highly developed savings, private banking and pension assets. With the opening of this office, Amundi demonstrates its long term commitment to further developing business activities. We are now in a strong position to offer Dutch investors the full range of Amundi’s asset management capabilities with local proximity to clients through an experienced business development team.”

Amundi is one of the first non-local asset managers to offer an extensive range of funds tailored to local needs without rebate well ahead of implementation in the market.

For more information:www.amundi.com

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NIBC Bank celebrates winning IFR 2013 Covered Bond of the Year Award

NIBC Bank CEO, Jeroen Drost, sounds the gong to celebrate winning the prestigious IFR 2013 Covered Bond of the Year Award. The award ceremony will take place on Wednesday evening January 22 in London.

NIBC Bank is awarded for its EUR 500 million conditional pass through covered bond (“CPTCB”) launched in September 2013. The CPTCB is a new type of covered bond secured by Dutch residential mortgages. The transaction was well received in the market and was placed with a large group of institutional investors. In addition, global recognition was gained by financial markets and media for creating a product with more stability and meeting today’s investor demands. Analysts and media described the new product as “revolutionary” and “changing the landscape of covered bonds for good”.

The CPTCB differs from the traditional covered bond structures, due to the absence of derivatives and inclusion of an orderly wind-down mechanism of the cover pool subject to strict conditions. These features create more stability in ratings and structure. The syndicate banks– next to NIBC – were Credit Suisse, LBBW and RBS.NIBC Bank is a Dutch bank active in corporate and consumer banking. Headquartered in The Hague, NIBC also has offices in Brussels, Frankfurt and London.

For more information: www.nibc.com

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RIVM opens trading for Cervical Cancer Prevention Week

The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) opens trading for the European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week that takes place from 22 to 28 January.

The European Cervical Cancer Association (ECCA) has created the week to increase awareness for cervical cancer and its prevention. Worldwide, 250,000 women die each year from cervical cancer. This while the disease is often preventable through effective screening and vaccination. In the Netherlands a well organized and free screening takes place. About 800,000 women are invited each year. Program Coordinator of the cervical cancer screening, Nynke van der Veen, sounds the gong.

For more information: www.rivm.nl/bevolkingsonderzoeknaarkanker

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Gong launches Get Dads Reading campaign

Eppo van Nispen tot Sevenaer, member of the Dutch Reading Coalition and managing director at Stichting CPNB, sounds the gong to launch the Dutch Get Dads Reading campaign.

The main goal of Get Dads Reading is to raise awareness of the importance of fathers as reading role models for their children. Recent studies show that parents have the biggest impact on their children when it comes to their joy in reading. Dads trail far behind their female partners in reading books to their kids. Only 8% of the fathers are the main reader within the family. These findings are a major concern, since a father's involvement in the child's early reading has proven to boost the child’s academic success leading to improved social and emotional wellbeing. That’s why the Dutch Reading Coalition challenges fathers to read to their sons and daughters more often.

Also attending the gong ceremony are the (male) partners in the Dutch Reading Coalition: Ap de Vries (Managing director at Dutch Library Association), Arjan Beune (Deputy director at The Reading & Writing Foundation), Gerard van Dijk (Program Manager at Netherlands Institute for Public Libraries), Daan Beeke (Project Manager at Dutch Reading Foundation) en Eelco Wierda of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

For more information: www.vadersvoorlezen.nl

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CEO UNIT4, José Duarte, sounds gong for winning Best Performer 2013 Award

CEO of UNIT4, José Duarte,sounds the gong to celebrate winning the Best Performer 2013 Award.

At the annual and well-attended New Year’s Reception of the Amsterdam exchange Cees Vermaas, CEO of Euronext Amsterdam, announced this year’s listed companies that achieved the highest earnings in the past year. UNIT4 won the Best Performer AMX award (68.96%). Other winners are Randstad (AEX, 69.57%), AND International (AScX, 113.33 %) and Core Laboratories (local market, 78.19%).

UNIT4 is a global business software and services company aimed at helping dynamic public sector and commercial services organizations to embrace change simply, quickly and cost effectively in a market sector it calls 'Businesses Living IN Change' (BLINC)™. The Group incorporates a number of the world’s leading change embracing software brands including Agresso, Coda and FinancialForce.com. With operations in 26 countries worldwide, revenue of €469.8 million was realized in 2012. UNIT4 is headquartered in Sliedrecht, the Netherlands and has over 4,000 employees.

For more information: www.unit4.com

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IMC Weekendschool Amsterdam West celebrates 10th anniversary

The ten IMC Weekendschool locations throughout the Netherlands provide young people with an opportunity to expand their horizons and develop their talents. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the school’s Amsterdam West location, manager Thijs Mulder and his students sound the gong with representatives of the National Postcode Lottery.

IMC Weekend school provides supplementary education to young people between the ages of ten and fourteen who come from deprived backgrounds and are anxious to learn. Lessons are given by enthusiastic professionals such as entrepreneurs, nursing professionals, judges and artists. The students come into contact with different professional groups and sectors, and are given a broader view of society so that they can make better, more informed choices about their education and career. IMC Weekendschool receives a substantial yearly contribution from the proceeds of the National Postcode Lottery, and is also financed by over one hundred companies and funds.

For more information: www.imcweekendschool.nl

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Amsterdammertje’ of the Year sounds gong

On Sunday 12 January Alexey Rahim is awarded as the Young ‘Amsterdammertje’ of the Year. Alexey visits Beursplein 5 and sounds the gong.

Alexey is half of a twin, his twin brother Maxim is severely handicapped, he has Down Syndrome. They are now 9 years old and Alexey often takes care of his brother. Helping him out of bed, feeding and help changing. He is not ashamed of his brother. VPRO made a documentary about the brothers and Alexey has shown that a disabled brother or sister is not something to be ashamed of, but rather something very special.

The newspaper Het Parool has organised the Young ‘Amsterdammertje’ of the Year competition for the past several years. ‘Ordinary’ citizens of Amsterdam who have made a significant contribution to the city are eligible for the prize. This year the Wikistad Foundation, in cooperation with the Discussion can be learned Foundation, has organised the second youth edition of the competition. The city of Amsterdam and Het Parool support the initiative. Children aged between 9 and 15 were eligible to apply over the past few months. Children also determined the most important selection criterion: the Young Amsterdamer should be someone who works selflessly on behalf of and sets an example for others.

For more information: www.wikistad.nl

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Winners of the Dutch IR Awards visit Beursplein 5

The winners of the Dutch IR Awards pay a visit to Beursplein 5 to sound the gong.

The winners of the seventh edition of the awards were announced to the 200 professionals attending the Dutch IR Awards Dinner held in Amsterdam ArenA. The awards are presented to Dutch companies and/or professionals working for Dutch companies who have given outstanding performances in the area of investor relations.

The winning professionals in the different categories are: AEX company and professional; Jan-Pieter van Winsen, Randstad, AMX company; Roeland Haanen, Delta Lloyd, AMX professional; John Eijgendaal, Aalberts Industries, AScX/Local company professional; Ton Anbeek, Beter Bed, Debt IR Financial; Willem van de Berg, Aegon and Debt IR Corporates; Wouter van de Putte, Ziggo. Jan-Pieter van Winsen, Director Investor Relations Randstad, sounds the gong.

For more information: www.nevir.nl

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Gong ceremony marks launch of NL Ondernemingsfonds

Roderick Munsters, CEO of Robeco, and Chris Buijink, Chairman of the NVB, sound the gong to highlight the launch of the NL Ondernemingsfonds (The Dutch Entrepreneurs Fund). Accompanying them are Gerrit Zalm, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ABN Amro, Hans van der Noordaa, CEO Retail Banking Benelux at ING, Ruud Hagendijk, Chairman of the Managing Board of MN, Rien Nagel, member of the Supervisory Board of Rabobank, Hans Snijders, CEO/Chairman of the Managing Board of Syntrus Achmea, and Cees Vermaas, CEO of Euronext Amsterdam.

The NL Ondernemingsfonds is a new source of financing for medium-sized and large companies created by the combined efforts of Dutch banks, institutional investors, financial service providers and asset managers. The presentation of the fund takes place at Euronext Amsterdam.

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BMD² Capital sounds gong to highlight its success in 2013

BMD² Capital B.V. sounds the gong to celebrate the success it achieved in 2013.

BMD² Capital is a young, ambitious trading firm operating from offices located at Beursplein 5. BMD² Capital specialises in proprietary trading in shares and derivatives. The company was founded early in 2013 by four partners, each with a proven track record. State of the art trading software and information systems, combined with risk management and unique trading strategies are the cornerstone of the new firm’s success. Managing partner Bas Emmerig sounds the gong.

For more information: www.bmd2capital.com

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FMO celebrates appointment Chief Investment Officer

Linda Broekhuizen, Chief Investment Officer, sounds the gong to mark her appointment as of 1 January in the Management Board of the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO).

The Dutch development bank FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing and emerging markets by investing in ambitious entrepreneurs. FMO believes a strong private sector leads to economic and social development, empowering people to employ their skills and improve their quality of life. FMO focuses on three sectors that have high development impact: financial institutions, energy, and agribusiness, food & water. With an investment portfolio of EUR 6.3 billion, FMO is one of the largest European bilateral private sector development banks.

For more information: www.fmo.nl

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The Netherlands Institute for Sport and Physical Activity celebrates 15th anniversary

The Netherlands Institute for Sport and Physical Activity (NISB), which celebrates its fifteenth anniversary in 2014, starts the year by sounding the gong at Beursplein 5.

CEO Remco Boer sounds the gong to highlight the need to take breaks from long periods of sitting during working hours. A sedentary lifestyle at home and at work increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, and early death. Two hours of physical activity a week do not cancel out the effects of sitting too much at home and at work. NISB works to raise awareness of the need to become more physically active during the work day, for example by using dynamic office furniture.

For more information: www.nisb.nl

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Winners of the 2013 M&A Awards sound gong

Winners of the 2013 M&A Awards sound the gong and open the trading day during a visit to Beursplein 5.

On 12 December 2013 the 14^th M&A Awards were presented to the top performers in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and private equity. Over 750 M& A professionals and private equity managers gathered to celebrate and look back on the year’s achievements. The awards, presented in 21 categories, are the highest recognition given to top professionals active in M & A, corporate finance and private equity.Winner of the ‘Best Acquisition Finance Banker Award’, Marin Boon, Manager Corporate Finance Memberbanks Rabobank, sounds the gong.

For more information: www.mena.nl

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KPN and Randstad sound the gong for the Dutch Short Track Championships

KPN (ticker KPN) and Randstad (ticker RAND), both listed on Euronext Amsterdam, sound the gong for the KPN Dutch Short Track Championships on 4 and 5 January.

The Dutch championships are the last speed skating tournament before the opening of the Olympic Games in Sochi one month from now. This year’s tournament will be held in the same venue as last year, the Jaap Eden IJsbanen in Amsterdam. For skaters participating in the Winter Olympics, the tournament is final test of their skill before they travel to Russia. Expectations are running high following the Dutch team’s promising performances at the European Championships, World Championships and World Cups. Cees Juffermans, tournament director, sounds the gong.

For more information: www.schaatsen.nl/shorttrack

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Moët Hennessy sounds gong for the start of the year 2014

General manager at Moët Hennessy, Bob Bron, sounds gong for the start of the year 2014.

The current portfolio of Moët Hennessy Netherlands incorporates a wide range of champagnes, cognac, whisky's, vodka and new world wines. In the Netherlands and worldwide, Moët Hennessy is the market leader in the category of champagne. Moët Hennessy is responsible for the distribution of the brands Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Krug, Hennessy, Ardbeg, Glenmorangie, Estates & Wines, Belvedère en Drambuie. Moët Hennessy is part of the group LVMH (ticker symbol: LVMH), a world leader in luxury and possesses a unique portfolio of over 60 prestigious brands as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy, Kenzo, Tag Heuer, Moët & Chandon and Dom Pérignon.

For more information: www.moethennessy.nl

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