Moldova - Romania: Capital Bridges Forum makes Moldova more visible on the map of international investors - Giorgi Shagidze.
In an interview with Moldovan journalists following the second forum held in Bucharest, the Chairman of the maib Board said that the event showed unprecedented attention of foreign investors to the market of Moldova, a country that became a candidate for EU accession, in the context of new opportunities, benefits for shareholders, investors and clients. He backed NBM President Anca Dragu's statement that if you do not invest in Moldova today, you will regret it in five years. Giorgi Shagidze said that Moldova has a chance to develop once in a hundred years, a chance to access all the benefits in all directions, which are offered by the EU candidacy and, later, by the EU membership. He noted that the Moldovan legislation should be harmonized with the European Union’s legislation. In particular, it is a question of changing the limitation of 1% for the purchase of shares of commercial banks from Moldova without obtaining authorization from the NBM. When it was introduced, there were reasons for it, but now the situation has changed. "We have not found any market where the restriction would be 1%, in Romania, for example - it is 10%," emphasized the maib Board Chairman. The lifting of the restriction will allow this largest bank in the country to come out with an IPO on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. According to Giorgi Shagidze, maib can play the role of a catalyst for other Moldovan companies and facilitate their entry into the Romanian capital market. "Currently, the main source of financing for companies in Moldova is credit, and today the Bucharest Stock Exchange is ready to open Romania's capital market for successful Moldovan businesses. Among maib's clients, there are several companies that would like to come out with an IPO after maib does," Giorgi Shagidze said. He said that an IPO can be prepared in 9-12 months with appropriate legislative changes. "I have a dream: when we come out with the IPO on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, to organize and hold the third Moldova - Romania: Capital Bridges Forum, but no longer in Bucharest, but in Chisinau; to invite to the Forum our clients, as well as the major players of the Romanian capital market, to show the opening prospects. The banking system is strong in those countries where capital markets are strong and people have access to them," said the maib Chairman of. //28.03.2024 - InfoMarket.
