The gong: an age-old tradition
The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange in the world and a household name in the Netherlands and abroad. As early as the 17th century, trading was opened and closed by sounding a gong. Today, all securities trading is automated and the opening is a ceremonial act. Directors of listed companies, business people, politicians and charity ambassadors have helped keep this tradition alive in recent years.
Amsterdam Gong Ceremonies
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Intertrust
| Amsterdam
8346d06d0805-d196-4a41-b736-09531dc587deIntertrust
More information to follow.
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Intertrust
| Amsterdam
8351648d03b6-7b3a-4a74-9de7-0a7f08a36416Intertrust
Intertrust celebrates IPO by sounding gong
Intertrust celebrates its listing on the Amsterdam exchange. CEO David de Buck sounds the gong to mark the start of trading in Intertrust shares.
Intertrust (ticker symbol: INTER) provides high-end legal and financial administrative services to corporations, funds, financial institutions and private individuals in order to facilitate their foreign investment and acquisitions through the incorporation, maintenance and liquidation of corporate, investment, finance and fund entities. The company offers a comprehensive range of specialised administrative services that ensure sound financial administration of companies and that enable its clients to comply with the applicable legal, tax and regulatory regimes. Intertrust currently operates in 26 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle-East.
For more information: www.intertrustgroup.com
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Esperite
| Amsterdam
8345f5e25538-27fb-4952-9837-9e8e1f4df159Esperite
Esperite CEO opens trading at Amsterdam exchange
Esperite CEO Frédéric Amar sounds the gong to open trading at the Amsterdam exchange.
Biotech company Esperite (ticker symbol: ESP) is a leading international company in predictive medicine and diagnostic medical tests. The company, headquartered in Zutphen, was founded in 2000 and was listed on Euronext Amsterdam on 22 October 2009.
For more information: www.esperite.com
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Ordina
| Amsterdam
8344fe931fea-f4f7-4f79-9339-640f5796ac01Ordina
Ordina hires 150th Young professional
Ordina CEO Stépan Breedveld opens the Amsterdam exchange by sounding the gong. The ICT service provider based in Nieuwegein celebrates the hiring of the 150th Young Professional to join the organization. Ordina has developed a special Young Professionals program for ICT talents. This is an important tool for finding and retain talent and is well appreciated by customers.
The sounding of the gong was also the kick off for the annual Ordina Open Innovation Days which take place on 13 and 14 October at the head office in Nieuwegein. In addition to speakers and an innovation tour, the winners of the Ordina Innovation Challenge will be announced. This is an annual competition for start-ups in technology with innovative ideas with a social impact. Ordina aims to challenge small organizations and provide start-ups with a platform for their innovative ideas.
For more information: www.ordina.nl
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EY Master Entrepreneur of the Year
| Amsterdam
8343b4501d5b-58c0-47fb-84be-371033ada6f1EY Master Entrepreneur of the Year
Winner EY Master Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates title at Euronext
The winner of the EY Master Entrepreneur of the Year, Marco van Zijverden, CEO of Dutch Flower Group, celebrates his title by sounding the gong at the Amsterdam exchange.
This year 26 entrepreneurs presented themselves on the Jury day to an independent jury. 19 finalists were selected. The award is presented annually in over sixty countries. With this award, great entrepreneurship is rewarded and stimulated, and encourages to motivate other entrepreneurs with their vision, passion, conviction and excellent leadership.
EY collaborates with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the NVP and VNO-NCW for this election. The Entrepreneur Of The Year competition is divided in three categories: Emerging, Accelerating and Master. The Master Entrepreneur Of The Year is automatically nominated for the election of the best entrepreneur in the world: EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year. This will be held in Monaco in June 2016.
For more information: www.eyentrepreneurship.nl/eoy2015
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Sustainability Day
| Amsterdam
83398b20057c-bbdd-4ce4-912c-7d1f93703ca3Sustainability Day
Ben & Jerry's visits Euronext on Sustainability Day
Ben & Jerry's visits Euronext and sounds the gong on Sustainability Day.
The ice cream brand, part of Euronext listed company Unilever (ticker symbol: UNIA), urges her fans to take action against climate change. In order to increase awareness about climate change Ben & Jerry's launched the flavour "Save Our Swirled". The raspberry ice cream is blended with swirls of marshmallow, raspberries and blackberries, and chocolate cones.
The campaign of Ben & Jerry's is a logical consequence of the progressive background of the originally American brand that uses Fairtrade ingredients and uses a CO2 offset program since 2002.
For more information: www.benjerry.com
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Dimensional Fund Advisors
| Amsterdam
833826d8a030-7052-4834-a82d-31d0f0cfa204Dimensional Fund Advisors
Dimensional Fund Advisors visits Euronext
Global investment management firm Dimensional Fund Advisors visits Euronext Amsterdam in relation to the expansion of their team to be of even better service to their Dutch relations. Vice President Jeff de Haan sounds the gong.
De Haan: “As strong believers in the power of capital markets, we are honoured to be given the opportunity to open the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. Dimensional has a unique approach to investment management and is committed to the Dutch market. We have a growing team of experienced people focused on building successful partnerships with wealth management firms, investment advisers and institutional investors. Our goal is to deliver the best investment experiences for our clients and we think we can make a positive difference in the Dutch market.” Jeff De Haan, Vice President, Dimensional Fund Advisors
For more information: www.dimensional.com
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Ambassador of the United States
| Amsterdam
833781ff4bda-562b-4c1d-b891-90acdec326d2Ambassador of the United States
American Embassy delegations sounds closing gong
His Excellency Timothy Broas, Ambassador of the United States in the Netherlands, and a delegation from the US Embassy, visits Euronext Amsterdam and closes trading by sounding the gong.
Prior to the closing gong, the delegation will attend a presentation given by Adam Rose, Head of Derivatives Euronext Amsterdam, on the history of the Amsterdam exchange and the financial relationship between the Netherlands and the United States over the centuries.
For more information: thehague.usembassy.gov
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AMX-Index
| Amsterdam
833605a4d8f8-dde2-4da5-a5ec-2d9ab5b8aab6AMX-Index
Sounding gong marks 20th anniversary AMX-Index
Today Euronext celebrates the 20th anniversary of the AMX-Index.
The AMX is the index for mid cap companies listed on Euronext Amsterdam and was launched on 4 October 1995. The index was created to give the mid cap companies more visibility and to help investors to gain better insight in the overall performance of the Dutch mid cap companies. The AMX contains the 25 second most largest and actively traded companies listed on Euronext Amsterdam, and is the most widely used mid cap indicator of the Dutch stock market. The index is tracked by an ETF and leveraged products. Since the beginning of this year the number of outstanding products linked to the AMX-Index has grown with 133%* to 84* and the ETF had an Inflow of assets under management of 3.5* million.
The AMX is calculated in a price and a gross (total) return version as of the start and a net return versions was added to the family in 2010. All indices were calculated back to 1983 and in this 32 year period the AMX (price) had a yearly performance of 8.6%* and the AMX GR of 12%*.
*Percentage and numbers as of end of august 2015
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SME Innovation top 100
| Amsterdam
83351a0ace94-8597-485d-b762-b41e5871fbb9SME Innovation top 100
Winner SME Innovation top 100 opens trading
The winner of the SME Innovation top 100, LUXeXcel, visits Beursplein 5 and opens trading.
The Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Financiële Telegraaf, has published the ranking of one hundred specific innovations of Dutch SME’s. Hundred SME’s have been implementing innovative concepts in their products, services or business. With these innovations, entrepreneurs have raised their turnover, have secured their continuity of business or have improved their existing products.
LUXeXcel was ranked first for its innovational concept of producing optical lenses through 3D printing. The concept of LUXeXcel is found revolutionary by scientists worldwide. The lenses are not traditionally produced in layers, but with UV light.
For more information: www.mkbinnovatietop100.nl
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Done Hedge Fund
| Amsterdam
8334128d828b-9d9b-4234-b730-e3b193ddd4b0Done Hedge Fund
Done Hedge Fund celebrates 3 year anniversary
Done Hedge Fund celebrates its 3 year anniversary by sounding the gong. The fund has achieved a performance of +43.8% net of fees since its inception in October 2012. This corresponds to an annualized net performance of +12.6%. Iain Somers sounds the gong accompanied by the Done Hedge Fund team.
Done Hedge Fund is a creative market neutral arbitrage fund with a main focus on European stock markets. The fund aims for double digit positive returns with single digit volatility, regardless the direction of the markets. Since the start of the fund, 90% of the months have been positive. This is the consequence of the strong interaction between solid risk management and the extensive experience of the management team.
For more information: www.done.nl
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Arcadis
| Amsterdam
8331cfa0a14b-5636-4235-bad2-192d8ca26a17Arcadis
Arcadis celebrates 20-year listing anniversary
Arcadis (ticker symbol: ARCAD) sounds the opening gong at Euronext Amsterdam. This marks 20 years of trading and the launch of its new single brand, signaling strengthened global positioning in response to changing client needs.
The leading Design & Consultancy firm for natural and built assets, recently unveiled their new, refreshed brand identity with which it will now go to market globally under one brand. This brand launch follows two years of investment in joining up 28,000 people in a single operating model which enables Arcadis to bring its very best knowledge and technical expertise to clients wherever they need help. The new brand will be adopted across the 70 countries in which Arcadis operates.
For more information: www.arcadis.com
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A Sister’s Hope
| Amsterdam
833022c29bc1-9582-4bbf-b0ca-665d83a9f71eA Sister’s Hope
A Sister’s Hope opens trading to mark breast cancer month
A Sister’s Hope opens trading by sounding the gong to mark the start of October breast cancer month. Throughout October, several activities aim to raise awareness around breast cancer.
A Sister's Hope was the first non-profit organization in The Netherlands dedicated solely to raising money for breast cancer research and remains the only organization in The Netherlands with that pure focus. More than 4.5 million euro has been given to researchers since 2007.
For more information: www.asistershope.org
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Top Woman of the Year
| Amsterdam
83283ebbcd12-1036-4ab3-a039-9c919da699ffTop Woman of the Year
Top Woman of the Year sounds gong
Annemieke Nijhof, CEO of Tauw Group, has been named Top Woman of the Year 2015 and celebrates the title by sounding the gong.
With the election, The Top Woman of the Year Foundation wants to give female talent the attention they deserve. It offers successful women a platform to be visible and to be able to act as role models for other women.
Annemieke Nijhof is praised by the jury because of her choice for challenges, her courage and connective leadership style steered her organization through difficult crisis years. It has convinced the jury she is a role model and inspiring example for young women - and men - and not just within her own organization, says jury president Pamela Boumeester.
For more information: www.topvrouwvanhetjaar.nl
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Pan-European IR Conference
| Amsterdam
83276b3b377c-9908-441f-ae90-e285e552ddd4Pan-European IR Conference
Gong marks start fourth Pan-European IR Conference
The start of the fourth Pan-European IR Conference is marked by the traditional sounding of the gong.
The event is organised by the Investor Relations Associations of Belgium (BIRA), France (CLIFF), the Netherlands (NEVIR) and Portugal (FIR) and takes place at Beursplein 5.
This event is meant for IR professionals who want to share insights with IR thought leaders and who want to connect with European IR professionals from across the continent. Roeland Haanen, chairman of the NEVIR, sounds the gong.
For more information: www.european-ir-conference.com
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Week against Loneliness
| Amsterdam
83261828b2bb-0fc7-4d57-b567-23430bcb4badWeek against Loneliness
Sounding of gong for Week against Loneliness
The National Foundation for the Elderly and partner Sligro (ticker symbol: SLIGR) open trading in the Week against Loneliness.
More than a million elderly people in the Netherlands are lonely. Out of them, 200,000 are extremely lonely. Of the elderly who live in a care home, around 10,000 are never visited. One in five residents of a nursing home go outside less than once a month. Some elderly even less than once a year for lack of family, friends and volunteers.
The National Foundation for the Elderly hopes to raise awareness on the issue with various initiatives, including a knitting campaign, bleachers for the elderly during a football match of FC Utrecht, the BoodschappenPlusBus and the National Day for the Elderly on 2 October.
For more information: www.ouderenfonds.nl
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Bicentenary Kingdom Netherlands
| Amsterdam
83235ccd31fe-880e-454c-94c4-7602443d201eBicentenary Kingdom Netherlands
Bicentenary Kingdom Netherlands celebrated by sounding gong
Ank Bijleveld-Schouten, chairperson of the National Committee for the Bicentenary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands sounds the gong at the Amsterdam exchange to open trading.
Mrs. Bijleveld-Schouten is invited to perform this act in relation to next days ending of the festivities of the 2-year celebration of the Bicentenary. On Saturday September 26th the Royal Carré theatre will host a gathering that marks the official closing of the celebrations, while later that evening the Skinny Bridge on the Amstel river will be the stage of a spectacular musical and theatrical show that will end the festivities. The event on the 26th of September is the grand finale of the celebration of the bicentenary of the Kingdom of The Netherlands. It’s the last of six events which are organized between November 2013 and September 2015 by the National Committee.
In addition to Mrs. Bijleveld-Schouten, two members of the National Committee will be present during the ceremony: former CEO of Shell Netherlands, Mr. Rein Willems and Bercan Günel, managing partner of Women Capital.
The celebrations of the Bicentenary which have been organized throughout the Kingdom of the Netherlands wouldn’t have been possible without the cooperation of many sponsors, including several companies that are listed on the Amsterdam exchange. To underline this close cooperation, the ceremony of the ringing of the gong will be attended by delegates of Philips, Heineken, AkzoNobel and Shell.
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Amsterdam Capital Week
| Amsterdam
8322c1076153-c0e3-4469-8a1d-4b2a8dc4c98cAmsterdam Capital Week
Amsterdam Capital Week kicked off by sounding gong
Today the sounding of the gong will be done on the occasion of the first Amsterdam Capital Week. Euronext subsidiary EnterNext is one of the organizations joining forces with StartupAmsterdam during this week filled with events surrounding startups and investment.
Amsterdam Capital Week is a week in which startups from around the world travel to Amsterdam to meet and pitch for over 500+ investors. It has never been done before and it will showcase Amsterdam’s strong points on Startup Capital: abundance in (pre-)seed capital, access to international funding, Europe’s crowd funding capital. There are over 20 events, workshops and (crowd)funding festivals combined in one week. For this reason startups and investors from around the world will be in Amsterdam at Amsterdam Capital Week.
EnterNext is designed to support small- and mid-caps, helping them find the most suitable financing solution and make better use of the exchange. Amsterdam Capital week is initiated and part of the StartupAmsterdam Program.
For more information: www.amsterdamcapitalweek.com
Amsterdam
Would you like to sound the gong with your company at Beursplein 5?
Open the trading day at Euronext Amsterdam
Companies or institutions that have a natural connection to the Amsterdam capital market can be invited to take part in a gong ceremony. For example, this might be to mark a special milestone or to raise awareness of a charity.
The ceremony starts with a reception hosted by a senior Euronext Amsterdam representative in the former Board Room at Beursplein 5. Just before 9 am, the participants and their guests take their place on the gong stage to open the trading day, The gong is sounded at 9 am precisely. The group then returns to the Boardroom for a cup of coffee.
Media coverage
The gong strike is broadcast live every morning on RTL Z. A picture of the gong strike illustrates the daily stock market report on the Financiële Telegraaf's website. In addition, Euronext shares the images on its social media channels.
Photos and video footage taken of the gong ceremony are shared with guests, who are free to use them for their own communications and on social media.
Practical information
Programme
Timings for gong ceremonies at Beursplein 5 are as follows:
Reception: 8.30 am
Sounding of the gong: 9.00 am
End: 9.15 - 9.30 am
Group size: minimum 8 people, maximum 15 people.
There is no charge for the gong ceremony.
Additional options
You can combine your gong ceremony with the Amsterdam Exchange Experience: a special tour of the stock exchange building.
Or if you would like to use the gong ceremony to kick off a conference or event, consider organising your event at Beursplein 5. Euronext has several historic rooms where events for 10 to 150 people can be held.
The Euronext Events Team will be happy to give you all the information you need about the options available.