EBRD Acquires Stake in Bucharest Bourse

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has acquired a 4.99% stake in the Bucharest Stock Exchange to back Romania's efforts to strengthen its capital markets.

The EBRD said in a statement on Wednesday that through this equity interest it is supporting "the Romanian government's comprehensive capital market development programme, which aims to improve the functioning of the local capital markets, enhance liquidity and increase availability of debt and equity offerings."

The Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) is the largest bourse in southeastern Europe. Eighty-three companies with total market capitalisation of about EUR 30 B were listed on BVB as of September 2014.

The EBRD also said it will support legal and regulatory reforms by Romania to help the country achieve its goal to upgrade the bourse to emerging market status. This means including Romanian stocks in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index from their current position in the MSCI Frontier Markets Index.