Yiannos Kontopoulos spoke about the Athens Stock Exchange’s effort to attract more companies from the floor of the 3rd Naftemporiki Economic Conference. He also explained the advantages of the stock market as a financial tool.
The CEO of the Athens Stock Exchange Group participated in the second part of the Conference, which focused on the financial tools available to businesses, moderated by Natasa Stassinou, Editor-In-Chief at www.naftemporiki.gr.
Asked how the stock market could attract large businesses, he said: “We started from issues where there was not much interest in the financial tool called the stock market. The economy helped us. We need to re-approach the market and explain the advantages of listing on the Stock Exchange.”
He also emphasized that the stock market is a financial tool, which gives the impression to the investing public that “you really want to do things.”
Asked about the decision of FTSE Russell to add the Athens Stock Exchange in a watchlist for an imminent upgrade in developed markets, he replied: “Everything and nothing.”As Kontopoulos explained, “it is something similar to the investment grade, which was certainly a milestone.”
He noted that “the market is rather affected by expectations and therefore the addition to the watch list is exactly what will enable listed companies to increase their size. There is feedback in this process. You enter a context in which the market gives you greater confidence. From there, the range of institutional investors opens up.”
