Brussels – 11 December 2014 – Euronext and Bank Degroof held their second Belgian Investor Day in Zürich. The event, which was attended by 17 Belgian issuers and 28 institutional investors, aimed at raising the visibility of the Belgian listed companies among Swiss investors. Euronext and Bank Degroof strongly believe that such initiatives contribute to the growth of Belgian companies and the creation of value for the whole Belgian economy.
The event allowed investors to interact with Belgian CEOs, CFOs and Investor Relations Officers in order to learn more about investment opportunities in companies listed on Euronext Brussels. The 2014 edition brought together a diversified group of companies in terms of size and activity sectors, with a strong focus on our EnterNext franchise dedicated to mid and small capitalisations. The participating companies were: Ackermans & Van Haaren, Agfa Gevaert, Arseus, Barco, Befimmo, Bekaert, Cofinimmo, Deceuninck, Elia, EVS, Gimv, Home Invest Belgium, Kinepolis, Melexis, Montea, Recticel and Viohalco.
This edition saw an increase in corporate meetings from 85 to 115 compared to last year, confirming the great interest of Swiss institutional investors for large, mid and small cap Belgian issuers. The attending companies represented together over 18 billion euros of market capitalisation and over 20 million euros in daily average value traded on Euronext Brussels.
Vincent Van Dessel, CEO of Euronext Brussels: “Following the success of our first Belgian Day in 2013, we are continuing the momentum by renewing the initiative again this year. This event is part of our efforts to help finance the real economy by connecting issuers to investors. It is a powerful way of enabling Belgian issuers to raise their visibility and broaden access across this important investor base.”
Laurent Goethals, Associate Director Institutional Clients of Bank Degroof: “On several aspects, Switzerland is very comparable to Belgium and Swiss investors are very similar to Belgian investors. This event, offers the unique opportunity for our corporates to convince institutional investors that their company is much more than just numbers, ratios and stockquotes. For companies, these unique moments are probably the best opportunity to convince investors to invest in their growth and as such to increase employment. Connecting corporates with investors is part of our daily business.”
Benoît De Blieck, CEO of Befimmo : "This Belgian Day is a beautiful opportunity to present our vision and convictions directly to shareholders or candidate shareholders, and to challenge them in one-to-one meetings. Especially in Switzerland where we are less known and followed by analysts. This was in fact a very effective day.”