All Bell ceremonies

L'Oreal Netherlands opens trade to celebrate takeover IT Cosmetics

L’Oréal Netherlands, part of the Euronext Paris listed L’Oréal (ticker symbol: OR), recently announced the signing of the acquirement of IT Cosmetics, one of the fastest growing prestige beauty brands in the United States. IT Cosmetics, who had net sales of 182 million US dollars – up by 56% more than the year before, was purchased for a price of 1.2 billion US dollars. The largest purchase of L'Oreal in eight years is celebrated by sounding the gong at the Amsterdam exchange.

IT Cosmetics will become part of the Luxe Division of L’Oréal and adding more than 300 skin-care and makeup products to its portfolio. “IT Cosmetics shares L’Oréal’s passion for product innovation. With their ‘Problem Solving Beauty’ mission, IT Cosmetics is providing products whose primary purpose is to help with skin improvement. The acquisition of this unique brand allows us to respond even better to a particularly dynamic market of cosmetics. It is an excellent addition to our existing brand portfolio," says Florian Marrone, Market Director Luxe L’Oréal Netherlands. 

L’Oréal has devoted itself to beauty for over 105 years. With its unique international portfolio of 32 diverse and complementary brands, the Group generated sales amounting to 25.26 billion euros in 2015 and employs 82,900 people worldwide.

For more information: www.loreal.com

Download photo

TenneT opens trading as first Dutch corporation to issue ‘green bonds’

TenneT is the first Dutch non-financial enterprise to issue so-called ‘green bonds’ in euros. For this occasion they visit the Amsterdam exchange of Euronext. Trading is opened by Otto Jager, CFO.

The first bond issue in 2015 consisted of two tranches of EUR 500 million each, with terms of 6 and 12 years and coupon rates of interest of 0.875% and 1.750%, respectively. In June 2016, TenneT issued another two tranches of EUR 500 million with terms of 10 and 20 years and coupon rates of interest of 1.000% and 1.875%, respectively. These bonds are all traded on the Euronext exchange in Amsterdam. In May 2016, TenneT also issued EUR 500 million in ‘green loans’ in Germany, a scheme comparable to the green bonds program.

In the future, TenneT will be issuing green bonds more frequently. The company is working on numerous sustainable energy projects that are eligible for green financing. In the next ten years, TenneT is expecting to invest EUR 7 to 9 billion in offshore wind energy projects in the Netherlands and Germany. In the period up to 2023, TenneT will connect to the Dutch grid 3,500 MW of sustainable wind energy generated by wind farms still to be developed in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. This corresponds to the annual energy consumption of over 3.5 million households. Green loans are contributing to the financing of the required grid connections.

For more information: www.tennet.eu

Download photo

Chamber of Commerce opens trading for SME Innovation Top 100

The Chamber of Commerce encourages businesses to grow and innovation is an important pillar in this. Innovative entrepreneurs from SMEs boost economy with innovations. For this group of entrepreneurs, the Chamber annually organizes the SME Innovation Top 100. Recently the nominees were published, therefore the Chamber of Commerce visits the Amsterdam exchange of Euronext and opens trading.

This year is the 11th edition and over 300 entrepreneurs from small and medium enterprises compete for this award. The SME Innovation Top 100 is a unique opportunity and to increase the company's visibility innovation and provides innovators in SMEs the springboard to knowledge and new networks. On 29 September, prior to the Day of Innovation, the winner will be announced. The Chamber of Commerce is proud to entrepreneurs who demonstrate courage and perseverance and have an eye for innovation.

The Chamber aims to be a modern online service for all operators in the Netherlands. They want business owners find answers to their questions as easy as possible. They help entrepreneurs in the phase before their start and with the official time of registration. They serve them in finding funding, innovation and entrepreneurship at home and abroad. The Chamber of Commerce provides information and advice to ensure optimum operation and capturing growth opportunities.

For more information: www.kvk.nl

Download photo

SOS Children’s Villages opens trading and a new children’s village

SOS Children's Villages opens trading on the Amsterdam exchange of Euronext by sounding the gong. By sounding the gong, the international children's development organization calls attention to a joyful event: the official opening of the SOS Children's Village in Guatemala situated in Santa Cruz del Quiché.

This children’s village was achieved thanks to the donations of Dutch donors. Here, children who lost the care of their parents find a new home in a loving SOS family. The construction of the new children's village in Santa Cruz del Quiché region was very much needed, because the population in this region is struggling with major problems. The village of Santa Cruz del Quiché consists of twelve family houses. 84 children will grow up under the loving wings of an SOS mother.

SOS Children's Villages has been working for children without parents or a safe home for more than 65 years. The international children's organization believes that family is the most important foundation for the healthy development of children. Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of children get solid foundation to develop themselves to promising and independent adults with SOS Children's Villages’ help. Preferably within their own family, but if that is no longer possible in an SOS family in a children's village.

For more information: www.soskinderdorpen.nl

Download photo

Sounding of the gong kicks off Boskalis Beach Cleanup Tour

The North Sea Foundation kicks off the Boskalis Beach Cleanup Tour. Managing director Floris van Hest sounds the gong accompanied by a delegation of Euronext listed main sponsor Boskalis (ticker symbol: BOKA).

From August 1 until August 14, The North Sea Foundation cleans up the Dutch coastline with as many volunteers as possible. And this is of great necessity with about 1,2 million pieces of plastic trash on the Dutch beaches. This year, the Boskalis Beach Cleanup Tour is organised in a new way. For the past three years, the North Sea Foundation roamed along the coastline from Cadzand to Schiermonnikoog in one month. This year, The North Sea Foundation will clean the Dutch beaches within two weeks, by starting simultaneously on August 1 in both Cadzand and Schiermonnikoog and finishing in Zandvoort. Last year, The North Sea Foundation has collected 11.555 kilograms of trash from the beaches with the help of over 2000 volunteers.

The Boskalis Beach Cleanup Tour is organised by the North Sea Foundation, the environmental organization that focuses on sustainable use of the North Sea. Since the first edition in 2013, 38,223 kilos of waste have been removed from the Dutch beaches thanks to the help of 4,015 volunteers.

For more information: www.beachcleanuptour.nl

Download photo

Ahold Delhaize celebrates first trading day on Euronext

Ahold Delhaize (ticker symbol: AD) celebrates its first trading day on Euronext. Following the successful merger of Ahold and Delhaize Group, Ahold Delhaize began trading on the Amsterdam and Brussels markets of Euronext.

Dick Boer, CEO of Ahold Delhaize celebrates the company’s first trading day by sounding the gong in Amsterdam which denotes the opening of trading of Ahold Delhaize on Euronext. The company is part of the flagship indices of Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels; the AEX® and the BEL20®.

Ahold Delhaize is one of the world’s largest food retail groups and a leader in both supermarkets and ecommerce. Its family of 22 strong, local brands serves more than 50 million customers each week in 11 countries. Together, these brands employ more than 375,000 associates in 6,500 grocery and specialty stores and include the top online retailer in the Benelux and the leading online grocers in the Benelux and the United States. Ahold Delhaize brands are at the forefront of sustainable retailing, sourcing responsibly, supporting local communities and helping customers make healthier choices. Headquartered in Zaandam, the Netherlands, Ahold Delhaize shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam and Brussels and its American Depositary Receipts on the over-the-counter market in the U.S., quoted on the OTCQX International marketplace.

For more information: www.aholddelhaize.com

Download photo

Vriendengevraagd.nl

Rabobank sounds gong for Vriendengevraagd.nl

The new online service Vriendengevraagd.nl helps young people to find and apply for summer jobs in the area. Summer jobs they can do together for one employer. Rabobank wants to help young people earn their (first) holiday pay. Ellis Ramakers, Marketing Manager Young Customers Rabobank sounds the gong.

Vriendengevraagd.nl is an online service specifically for young people aged 14 to 18 who want start working this summer. For those who find it exciting to apply for a job or do not exactly know how to handle a job interview, useful tips can be found on the website.Vriendengevraagd.nl is an initiative of Rabobank. The online service is available to anyone, a Rabobank account is not necessary to apply.

For more information: www.vriendengevraagd.nl

Download photo

Belgian National Day

Belgian Ambassador sounds gong to celebrate Belgian National Day and the relations with the Netherlands

H.E. Chris Hoornaert, Ambassador of Belgium in The Netherlands opens trading at Euronext Amsterdam, together with Dries van der Vossen, CEO of Bilderberg Hotels and Honorary Consul of Belgium in Amsterdam, and Katharina Desmet, Economic Representative of Flanders for the Belgian Embassy.

By sounding the gong, the ambassador not only launches a new day at the exchange, he also celebrates the Belgian National Day: 185 years ago, on the 21st of July 1831, Belgium got its very first king, Leopold van Saksen-Coburg-Gotha. For the last three years, Belgians have also been commemorating the crowning of their current king, Filip, who succeeded his father, Albert II, on the 21st of July 2013.

‘Belgium and the Netherlands cooperate so well that there can be no doubt about it’, assured a Dutch Minister recently. Belgium celebrates its independence, however, on a day like this they also look at the successful and intense bilateral relations with The Netherlands, culturally, in the field of national security as well as economically. The good economic cooperation, and even interpenetration, translates also into the strong trade relations: The Netherlands are the first provider and the third customer of Belgium, which is in its turn the third importer of goods into the Netherlands.

For more information: www.netherlands.diplomatie.belgium.be

Download photo

Nationale-Nederlanden Pensions

Nationale-Nederlanden Pensions sounds gong for Income for Later

Nationale-Nederlanden Pension start with a different outlook on Income for Later. New initiatives include a collaboration with the women’s brand VIVA to inspire women to think about later and put them into action. To bring attention to this subject they open trading on the Amsterdam exchange.

Nationale-Nederlanden launched a collaboration with VIVA and known active bloggers at the beginning of this month. New is the magazine ‘Jouw Later’. This magazine has a central theme, creative pensions, with inspirational stories, some DIY instructions and helpful tips. More information is also available on Pensioenistedoen.nl. This is an online platform initiated by Nationale-Nederlanden, with interviews, videos with tips and activities organized by Nationale-Nederlanden.

Nationale-Nederlanden is a financial services provider with over 5 million private and business customers in the Netherlands. Nationale-Nederlanden has been active in the Dutch market and offers insurance, pensions and banking products for more than 170 years. It is part of NN Group (ticker symbol: NN), an international insurance and asset management listed on Euronext Amsterdam.

For more information: www.nn.nl

Download photo

The Challenge Engineering

Sounding of the gong for The Challenge Engineering

Yacht Engineering, Het Financieele Dagblad and BNR Nieuwsradio open trading at the Amsterdam exchange for The Challenge Engineering. The gong is sounded by Ard Kistemaker, Operational Director Yacht Engineering & Supply Chain Management & Procurement, accompanied by members of The Challenge-team.

Media companies Het Financieele Dagblad and BNR Nieuwsradio and recruitment agency Yacht organize a series of events called The Challenge; a quest for the best professional in a certain domain. During dynamic, interactive business events five selected finalists battle for the win in their field of expertise. By participating in The Challenge, professionals can show off their knowledge and skills and make a difference both to their area of expertise and the community/society.

The grand finale of The Challenge Engineering took place on 23 June 2016. The case at hand was how to make a Super Smart Energy City out of a city such as Amsterdam before 2050. The Challenge Engineering 2016 was won by Jasper Tonen, a policy officer at the city of Groningen. Both the jury and the audience valued his plans and input best. Prior to The Challenge Engineering Yacht and Het Financieele Dagblad organized The Challenge Finance 2016. The next Challenge, in March 2017, will be focusing on the search for the best IT Professionals of 2017. Yacht is part of Euronext listed Randstad (ticker symbol: RAND).

For more information: www.fd.nl/thechallenge

Download photo

Listing of Pharnext on Alternext

Listing of Pharnext on Alternext

Prof. Daniel Cohen, MD, PhD, CEO & Founder, Pharnext, opens the trading day in Paris.

Pharnext specializes in the development of drugs based on PleotherapyTM for the treatment of severe, rare and common neurological diseases (including Alzheimer, Charcot-Marie Tooth disease, Parkinson's and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). The company keeps creating new treatments by combining, at very low doses, molecules that are already tested for other diseases.
The group has a portfolio of 2 products in clinical development: PXT-3003 (treatment of the orphan disease Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A) and PXT-864 (Alzheimer's disease treatment).

100th Four Days Marches Nijmegen

Gong marks start 100th Four Days Marches Nijmegen

To celebrate the start of the 100th Four Days Marches Nijmegen, Ton Thomassen, member of the board of the Four Days Marches, sounds the gong.

The Nijmegen Four Days Marches is the world's largest multi-day walking performance event with 47,500 participants in the 100th edition. Participants from 70 countries come to Nijmegen to walk respectively 30, 40, 50 or 55 kilometres per day for four days. Participants are encouraged by hundreds of thousands of supporters along the route that finished on the Via Gladiola. This year, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander will attend the final day of the Marches. The 100th Four Days Marches start at Tuesday, 19 July at 4AM.

For more information: www.knblo.nl

Download photo

Gong ceremony Amsterdam

This morning, Euronext reflected on the events that took place in Nice last night. The traditional gong ceremony was subdued out of respect for all the victims. The opening of trading commenced as normal today.

NIBC acquires SNS Securities

NIBC finalises acquisition SNS Securities

NIBC recently completed the acquisition of SNS Securities. The corporate bank has now effectively added capital market solutions, equity and fixed income brokerage, research and execution services for independent asset managers to its service offering under the name NIBC Markets. Rob ten Heggeler, CCO NIBC, sounds the gong.

The combined offering, next to the current financing, co-investment and advising activities is exceptional in the Dutch mid-cap market. With the combination of NIBC and SNS Securities, NIBC has now completed the financial life cycle for its clients: from advising, structuring, financing and co-investing to IPO’s and bonds. This enables NIBC to service its already loyal customers with a wider choice of financial services, which is becoming increasingly important for clients who are seeking growth. The proof is in the eating of the pudding, as is evidenced by the roles in the recent initial public offering of Basic-Fit on the Amsterdam exchange. NIBC has already done two financial transactions with Basic-Fit in the previous years.

For more information: www.nibc.com

Download photo

French Ambassador

French Ambassador at Euronext Brussels

The Brussels Stock Exchange honoured France this Thursday 14th July. H. E. Madam Claude-France Arnould, French Ambassador to Belgium rang the opening bell of Euronext on the French National Day. She highlighted the strong - notably economic - connections that unite our two countries, and the importance of a strong pan-European stock market that defends the Belgian, French and European real economies.

Evi4Kids by Van Lanschot

Sounding of the gong for Evi4Kids of Van Lanschot

Trading on the Amsterdam exchange of Euronext is opened by Van Lanschot’s ‘Evi team’, who are the initiators behind Evi4Kids. Evi, Van Lanschot’s online savings and investment service, launched Evi4Kids at the beginning of June: online wealth creation for anyone under the age of 18 years.

By setting the entry point for investment at EUR1,000, Evi4Kids makes Van Lanschot’s expertise available to all wealth levels. All parents want to give their children a great start in life – and the sooner wealth creation starts, the better the chance of building a solid foundation.

Evi was launched in the summer of 2013 and is a service offered by Euronext listed Van Lanschot (ticker symbol: LANS). Evi manages a total amount of EURO1.5 billion in assets divided over Belgium and the Netherlands.

For more information: www.evivanlanschot.nl

Download photo

‘Bull and Bear’ certificates

Société Générale sounds gong for launch ‘Bull and Bear’ certificates

With the launch of the ‘Bull and Bear’’ certificates, Société Générale, a leading provider of listed investment products, enters the retail investor market in the Netherlands for the first time. Ernst Gevaerts, Head of Cross Asset Retail Distribution Sales Netherlands, sounds the gong.

Société Générale is one of the largest European financial services groups. Based on a diversified universal banking model, the Group combines financial solidity with a strategy of sustainable growth. Their aim is to be the reference for relationship banking, be recognized on its markets, be close to clients, chosen for the quality and commitment of their teams. Société Générale has been playing a vital role in the economy for 150 years. With more than 148,000 employees, based in 76 countries, they accompany 30 million clients throughout the world on a daily basis.

For more information: www.sgbeursproducten.nl  

Download photo

Flow Traders 1-year listing anniversary

Flow Traders celebrates its one-year listed anniversary

With the opening of trading on the Amsterdam exchange, Flow Traders (ticker symbol: FLOW) celebrates its first anniversary as a listed company. As a leading global liquidity provider in ETFs, with over 300 employees spread across offices in Amsterdam, Cluj, New York and Singapore, Flow Traders can look back on a successful first year as a listed company.

The listing has helped the company to improve its visibility towards investors and potential new employees for Flow Traders. Flow Traders has noticed that more institutional counterparties considered Flow Traders as a good company to trade ETFs. On top of that, they also show clear interest in Flow Traders itself. "It is amazing to notice how many people are familiar with Flow’s "success story" and we hope it can act as an example to others," said co-CEO Dennis Dijkstra.

The listing also raised awareness amongst the investment community about the growth of the ETF market and index trackers. The ETF market has become a mature market and ETFs have become an essential part of the asset management landscape and is foreseen to grow in the future. In 2015, Flow Traders traded € 645 billion value in ETFs and realized a Net Trading Income of EUR305 million.

For more information: www.flowtraders.com

Download photo