Brussels – 11 March 2015 – Euronext, Petercam and the Belgian Investor Relation Association (BIRA) held their first Belgian Investor Day in Milan. The event, which was attended by 12 Belgian issuers, mainly out of the Enternext franchise, and 15 major institutional investors, aimed at raising the visibility of the Belgian listed companies among Italian investors. Euronext and Petercam 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. This first edition brought together a diversified group of companies in terms of size and activity sectors. The participating companies were Ackermans & Van Haaren, Ageas, Barco, Deceuninck, EVS, Galapagos, Gimv, Kinepolis, Melexis, Mobistar, Telenet and Tigenix.
This edition was a success with around 72 corporate meetings – most of them discovery ones – confirming the interest of Italian institutional investors for large, mid and small cap Belgian issuers. The attending companies represented together over 25 billion euros of market capitalisation and over 33 million euros in daily average value traded on Euronext Brussels.
Alain Baetens, Head of Listings at Euronext Brussels, declared : “Following the success of our Belgian Investor Days in other European financial centres, we are continuing the momentum by taking the same initiative here in Milan. 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 the European investor base.”
Gert Potvlieghe, Head of Equity Sales at Petercam, stated: “Thanks to our in depth expertise in research based equity brokerage we have developed long lasting relationships with large institutional clients. We are pleased to support this initiative together with Euronext and the Belgian Investor Relation Association, as it enables our clients to meet new investors in addition to their contacts in the traditional financial markets.”
Geoffroy d’Oultremont, Vice President Investor Relations and Corporate Communication at EVS, said: “This was the first roadshow that EVS attended in Milan. When you meet investors in a new financial centre, it is never easy as they often do not know your company. By gathering listed companies and local investors in one place, Euronext and Petercam make it very efficient for all of us. I met with 6 investors, among which 5 who did not know EVS before. This was a very good initiative.”