The recent Capital Market of Romania – Next Capital Developments conference, organized by the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) and the National Bank of Romania (BNR), heavily focused on the country’s growing capacity to be designated an emerging market, according to a BVB release.

"We will keep on pushing inch by inch to meet this objective so that the capital market becomes a financing alternative for businesses in this country,” BVB Chairman Lucian Anghel said. “It took us four years to get us in the (FTSE Russell Watchlist), and the upgrade would be a huge success for Romania, not only for the capital market. There is a huge competition to attract capital, and funds who are 20 to 25 (percent) larger than current ones will be allowed to invest in Romania once the market gets upgraded."

Several companies already meet the emerging market criteria set forth by FTSE Russell and MSCI, including Romgaz, OMV Petrom and Banca Transilvania. 

At the conference, stakeholders pushed politicians to consider listing publicly owned companies, which would boost the stock exchange and the country’s economy and go a long way toward ensuring that the market has the necessary liquidity to be designated an emerging market.

"The Romanian capital market has now a chance, maybe for the first time, to have a big quick win because the upgrade of the whole environment into the family of emerging markets is now very close,” BVB CEO Ludwik Sobolewski said. “We have this paramount objective which we need to tackle: to upgrade Romania to emerging market status."