KLM - Safest airline of Europe

KLM sounds gong as safest airline of Europe

KLM, part of the Euronext listed Air France-KLM (ticker symbol: AF), has recently been named safest airline of Europe. On this occasion they visit the Amsterdam exchange and open the trading day.

The appointment is shown in a survey done by the German Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC). The yearly Safety Ranking of the sixty biggest airlines in the world shows that KLM has done exceptionally well in the period between 1986-2016.

In compiling the rankings, JACDEC looks at the ratio of the number of passengers carried, and the number of incidents in the past thirty years. KLM is the only European airline in the top ten, which also includes airlines such as EVA Air, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qantas and Japan Airlines.

For more information: www.klm.com

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Best Supermarket of the Netherlands

Albert Heijn sounds gong for Best Supermarket of the Netherlands

The trading day on the Amsterdam exchange of Euronext is opened by Albert Heijn, winner of the GfK Christmas Report 2016 and thus named the best supermarket in the Netherlands. Albert Heijn is part of the Euronext-listed Ahold Delhaize (ticker symbol: AD). Together with colleagues from a local Albert Heijn store, General Manager Wouter Kolk sounds the gong.

Wouter Kolk: ‘’I'm very proud of all our staff. It’s thanks to them that we were chosen as the best supermarket in the Netherlands. It’s particularly nice, therefore, to strike the gong today together with a few colleagues from the lovely nearby Albert Heijn store, just a stone’s throw away from the Beursplein’’.

Both the Summer and Christmas Report  consider two aspects; performance and appreciation. Albert Heijn has captured the number one spot mainly through good performance in store loyalty; of all supermarket visitors, customers feel most at home at their Albert Heijn supermarket.

For more information: www.ah.nl

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KPN's Finest Contact Foundation

KPN's Finest Contact Foundation and National Foundation for the Elderly visit Beursplein 5

KPN's Finest Contact Foundation, part of the Euronext listed KPN (ticker symbol: KPN), sounds the gong together with the National Foundation for the Elderly. Together  they initiatied ‘The Silver Line’, and have renewed their collaboration and recently . On this occasion they sound the gong and open trading at Beursplein 5.

This initiative is in line with the objectives of KPN's Finest Contact Foundation, primarily aimed at combating loneliness, among the elderly in this case, in the Netherlands. In addition, the Silver Line is vital in gaining information about what is going on in the lives of lonely elderly people and based on this information, the National Foundation for the Elderly may can optimize its service.

The Silver Line is a special service for the elderly. People who sign up get a weekly call from a volunteer from KPN's Silver bus and other volunteers from the call center at the headquarters of the National Foundation for the Elderly. They provide a listening ear, a friendly chat or a good conversation.

For more information: www.kpnmcf.com

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Olympic rowing champions

Olympic rowing champions sound gong with Aegon

Olympic champions Maaike Head and Ilse Paulis, rowers in the lightweight double sculls, open trading at the Amsterdam exchange. They are accompanied by sponsor Aegon (ticker symbol: AGN)

The rowers from the Aegon National rowing team concluded 2016 with the title 'Team of 2016 which was awarded to them at the NOS|NOC*NSF Sports Gala, they were awarded the ‘Andreas Medal’ by the city of Amsterdam and also received a ‘Fanny’ for their outstanding performance. Maaike Head and Ilse Paulis became European Champion, won a World Cup with a world record and won the overall World Cup ranking. During the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the duo became Olympic champions.

Aegon has been supporting the Aegon National rowing team and the Dutch professional rowers to perform optimally since 2010. Aegon also awards the Board Trophy annually, a price for the board of the best performing student rowing club. With this award Aegon promotes optimal sports performance and good governance.

For more information: www.aegon.nl

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Basic-Fit

Basic-Fit sounds the gong in support of New year’s resolutions

René Moos, CEO of Euronext listed Basic-Fit (ticker symbol: BFIT), sounds the gong at the start of the new year in support of everyone who tries to fulfil his or her New Year's resolution.

Exercise more and lose weight are two intentions that one usually finds at the top of New Year's resolutions lists. With over 400 fitness clubs, Basic-Fit is the largest value for money fitness chains in Europe and a place where many people will work on their resolutions.

Basic-Fit CEO, René Moos: “We offer an accessible and affordable solution for everyone who wants to lead a fit and active life. Our members get a pass which you can share with your relatives and which gives you access to all our clubs. With our extended opening hours and more than 150 clubs in the Netherlands, there is always a club close-by where you can accomplish your New Year's resolution whilst having fun.”

For more information: www.basic-fit.com

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Euronext wishes you a happy New Year

With the sounding of the gong Euronext wishes you all a prosperous New Year on the first trading day of 2017.

Euronext is the leading pan-European exchange in the Eurozone with more than 1 300 listed issuers worth close to €3.1 trillion in market capitalization as of end October 2016, an unmatched blue chip franchise consisting of 25 issuers in the EURO STOXX 50® benchmark and a strong diverse domestic and international client base.

Euronext operates regulated and transparent equity and derivatives markets. Its total product offering includes Equities, Exchange Traded Funds, Warrants & Certificates, Bonds, Derivatives, Commodities and Indices. Euronext also leverages its expertise in running markets by providing technology and managed services to third parties. Euronext operates regulated markets, Alternext and the Free Market; in addition it offers EnterNext, which facilitates SMEs’ access to capital markets.

For more information: https://www.euronext.com/en

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Run4Schools

DoubleDividend and Run4Schools sound gong on last trading day

DoubleDividend opens trading with Run4Schools on the last trading day of the year. With the final gong of the year 2016, DoubleDividend likes to draw attention to the runners of Run4Schools. On 15 April 2017, they will run the 56 kilometers of the Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town, South Africa for this charity.

DoubleDividend bridges financial and social return and fully supports the mission of Stichting Run4Schools. The team of DoubleDividend is composed of a few fanatic runners who frequently run to support charity. “Run4Schools is a beautiful initiative for young South African children. By organizing both in - and after - school sports activities these kids are of the streets and work on a better future. This is financed by the runners for this charity. Today, we are pleased to make these runners more visible with the sound of the gong”, says Marian Hogeslag, partner at DoubleDividend.

For more information: www.doubledividend.nl

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Topsport Amsterdam

Topsport Amsterdam visits Beursplein 5

Topsport Amsterdam organizes the annual Sports Gala of Amsterdam together with the City of Amsterdam. Here the ‘Fanny’ is awarded. This is the award for the ‘Amsterdam Best Athletes of the Year’. Sebastiaan Verschuren, professional swimmer, European Champion and Male Athlete of Amsterdam of 2016, sounds the gong and opens trading.

Topsport Amsterdam gives talented athletes living in Amsterdam the unique opportunity to achieve their goals and ambitions. Through the Centre for Elite Sport and Education (CTO) Amsterdam, they offer these talents a unique opportunity. By playing a key role in attracting and facilitating international top sport events in Amsterdam, they offer these athletes a platform to excel in their own city and thus serve as an incentive for the sport. Brilliant sponsors are, amongst others, Euronext listed KPN and Heineken.

For more information: www.topsportamsterdam.nl

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ASN Sustainable Equity fund

ASN Sustainable Equity fund sounds gong for Gouden Stier

The ASN Sustainable Equity Fund has won the Golden Bull (Gouden Stier) for the third time in a row, this year in the category of sustainable investing. The jury distinguishes the fund by its sustainable strategy and good financial results. The fund proves to have a winning strategy to invest in companies that are devoted to sustainable technology in the future. As said by Diane Griffioen, director ASN Investment Funds, who opens trading by sounding the gong.

The ASN Sustainable Equity Fund invests worldwide in sustainable companies. These companies meet the strict sustainability criteria of the ASN Investment Funds. They have a well thought out strategy for the future. These companies demonstrate that sustainability provides a significant competitive and profitable advantage. The ASN Sustainable Equity Fund was the first fund in the Netherlands that invested on the basis of sustainability criteria in companies in 1993.

For more information: www.asnbank.nl

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AFM and DNB

The AFM and DNB visit Beursplein 5

Dutch financial supervisors the Authority for the Financial Market (AFM) and De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) are easing access of innovative services to the market for financial services through a new approach, the "regulatory sandbox". On this occasion they visit the Amsterdam exchange of Euronext and sound the gong.

In the light of the rapid financial-technological developments, they will from now on focus on the real purposes of policies, rules and regulations when assessing innovative products, services or business models and use the scope of the law to provide bespoke solutions. They will also assess whether established policies, rules or regulations require any changes to accommodate for the new developments.

For more information: www.dnb.nl

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Best of Book

Binck sounds gong for Best of Book

Binck (ticker symbol: BINCK) visits the Amsterdam exchange of Euronext to sound the gong. Due to better execution for shares via the Best of Book platform Binck achieved a benefit for her customers of € 5 million over 2016.

Euronext’s Best of Book is a Best Execution service for retail orders. Dedicated liquidity providers offer price improvement for the retail flow, and the service operates within Euronext’s robust and highly regulated Central Order Book. Best of Book covers over 550 stocks.

Best execution for retail investors has become increasingly important and Binck passes the whole benefit on to its customers. "This is consistent with our belief that not just to the transaction fee matters to the customer but rather the quality of the execution makes the ultimate difference for the customer," says Jeroen Sonsma, director Binck Netherlands.

For more information: www.binck.nl

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ING Women of the Year 2016

ING Women of the Year 2016 open trading

The 18 nominees, including 6 brand new winners, of the ING Women of the Year election held recently, open trading by sounding the gong at Beursplein 5. The young Romanian expat Catalina Hascu, working in HR and one of the 'Rising Talents' winners, will sound the gong on behalf of all nominees and winners of the 2016 ING Women of the Year awards.

The election for employees working in the Netherlands organised annually by ING's women's network ‘Lioness’ put strong women in the categories of 'Role model' and 'Rising Talent' in the spotlight. These are women who inspire the people around them in a special way and help others to be successful while contributing to providing the best customer experience. The six winners were selected in the sub-categories Support Functions, Domestic Bank Netherlands and ING’s Wholesale Bank. ING (ticker symbol: INGA) is listed at Euronext Amsterdam.

For more information: www.ing.nl

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M&A Awards 2016

Sounding of the gong for M&A Awards

The M&A winners sound the gong and open the trading day. The M&A awards have been awarded for the sixteenth time to the top in terms of M&A, corporate finance and private equity. The winner in the category of Best Equity Capital Markets Banker sounds the gong. This year the award fell into the hands of Chris van Schuppen, Senior Managing Director of ABN AMRO.

The M&A Community is the network for professionals in M&A, investment bankers, corporate finance advisors, private equity and venture capital investors and professionals working for (large) corporates active in M&A as M&A Directors, Corporate Development Directors, CFOs, General Counsel and CEOs. The best deals are made with the right knowledge and best contacts. Therefore, the M&A Community offers opportunities for knowledge, networking and careers during various forums and Master classes, the Private Equity Summit, Corporate growths Summit and M&A Magazine.

For more information: www.overnames.nl

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Sponsorship personality of 2016

Sponsorship personality of 2016 visits Beursplein 5

Hans Erik Tuijt, Director Global Heineken Sponsorship, has been awarded Sponsorship personality of 2016 by Euronext. To celebrate this, he opens the trading day at the Amsterdam exchange together with his colleagues.

Earlier this year Heineken has become a Global Partner of Formula 1. Central to this significant partnership is a clearly articulated and compelling 'responsibility' message. The Formula 1 global platform provides Heineken with even greater opportunities, globally and locally, to drive positive change. Consumers will be left in no doubt that Heineken and Formula 1 are both clear; "When You Drive, Never Drink". This partnership complements existing global platforms of Heineken such as UEFA Champions League and Rugby World Cup. An overview of Heineken’s sponsorship activities can also be found at the former Heineken brewery, now known as the Heineken Experience. In 2016 the brand home welcomed over 1.000.000 visitors. This makes it the largest attraction in the city of Amsterdam.

Heineken is the world's most international brewer. It is the leading developer and marketer of premium beer and cider brands. Led by the Heineken brand, the Group has a powerful portfolio of more than 250 international, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders.

For more information: www.theheinekencompany.com

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Sponsor of the Year

KPN sounds gong for Sponsor of the Year

For the third time in six years Euronext listed KPN (ticker symbol: KPN) has been named Sponsor of the Year at the recent SponsorRing gala. KPN was nominated in three SponsorRing categories and thus the most successful sponsor in 2016.

One of the new sponsor projects recently launched by KPN is TEAMKPN Sports Fund. With this fund, KPN annually supports one or more Dutch sports teams that are not supported by the NOC*NSF but represent the Netherlands at international tournaments. The TEAMKPN Sports Fund facilitates until 2018 up to 200 thousand euros to temporarily support this unique sport performance annually. The TEAMKPN Sports Fund only supports sports teams and not individual athletes.

In 2015 and 2016 The Men’s Water Polo, Women's Softball, Men's Basketball and Men’s Curling team are supported with startling results. The Curling Men are also again promoted to the A-Poule and can now even qualify for the Olympics in 2018 through the support of the fund. For 2018 it was recently decided to support the men’s Ice Hockey Team in their efforts to promote to the first Division during the upcoming World Cup.

For more information: www.kpn.com

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Dutch Investment Influential 2016

Dutch Investment Influential 2016 sounds gong with IEXProfs

IEXProfs holds the election of most influential investor each year, the Dutch Investment Influentials. Martin Stolker, Executive Director at ABN Amro Advisors, has been elected as Dutch Investment Influential 2016 by the readers of IEXProfs and sounds the gong at the Amsterdam exchange to celebrate.

IEXProfs is part of IEX Media. IEX Media is a subsidiary of IEX Group (ticker symbol: IEX), listed on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. Since its inception in 1999, IEX has become one of the most common sources of investors in the Netherlands. IEX is an innovative media company with a broad portfolio of titles which reaches private and professional investors. The titles Belegger.nl and Beursduivel.be are acquired from Sanoma in 2007 and added to the portfolio of Value8 Media.

For more information: www.dutchinvestmentinfluentials.nl

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Rabobank launches GroenHypotheek

Rabobank sounds gong for launch GroenHypotheek

With its GroenHypotheek, Rabobank is the first bank to offer a ‘green mortgage’. For this occasion they visit the Amsterdam exchange. Elze Vonk, Head of Finance and Insurance Retail at Rabobank, sounds the gong.

As of now, buyers of an energy-efficient new-build home with a Green Certificate will be eligible for a Rabo GroenHypotheek. They will benefit from a 0.5% discount on the interest rate for a mortgage loan of up to € 150,000. With the Rabo GroenHypotheek, Rabobank aims to significantly accelerate the process of making housing sustainable.

The Rabo GroenHypotheek is intended for customers who purchase a sustainable new-build home. The property must have a Green Certificate confirming that it qualifies for the Green Projects Scheme. Customers with a Rabo GroenHypotheek receive a 0.5% discount on their mortgage interest for a loan of up to € 150,000. A Rabo GroenHypotheek is an annuity-based mortgage with a term of up to 30 years and a fixed-interest term of 10 years. The interest discount applies during this 10-year fixed-interest period, and will lapse thereafter.

For more information: www.rabobank.nl

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Ideas From Europe

Sounding of the gong for Ideas From Europe

André Meyer, SME Envoy Network, European Commission, opens trading to announce a second round of Ideas From Europe.

In 2017, a European quest for entrepreneurs with groundbreaking ideas with social impact will be held for the second time. In addition, a new method is being launched which allows ideas to be scaled up towards a socially desirable solution. Ideas From Europe was started in 2016 by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the European Commission. The initiative has grown into a network where stakeholders work together to scale up the idea and ultimately creating an eco-system in which a group can work together towards the desired solution (a joint scale-up).

Ideas From Europe kicks off in Malta in April 2017. From that moment, the quests start in all European countries. The semifinals will take place in Estonia in November 2017 and the final in Spring 2018 in The Hague, The Netherlands.

For more information: www.tedxbinnenhof.com

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