The conference was opened by Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the London Stock Exchange, followed by a speech by Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary. Then a panel with the heads of the V4 stock exchanges was held which, alongside BSE Chairman and CEO Richárd Végh, also featured Peter Kubricky, Director General of the Bratislava Stock Exchange, Jiří Kovařík, Director of External Communication of the Prague Stock Exchange and Peter Niklewicz, Senior Advisor to the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The discussions focused on the current situation of the region’s capital markets, the underlying investment opportunities and on prioritising the economy-enhancing role of exchanges.

It is no longer an exaggeration to state that Central Europe, and particularly the countries of the V4, is increasingly becoming the engine of EU growth. This clearly indicates that the axis of the European economy and of European competitiveness is shifting from Western Europe towards the centre of Europe,

said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó.

Hungarian stocks are extremely popular among international institutional investors, who are responsible for 55% of the BSE’s turnover, while 67% of securities traded on the exchange are also held by foreigners. The Budapest Stock Exchange is extremely open to international investors, and actively assists domestic issuers in building global relations. The ELITE programme launched in cooperation with the London Stock Exchange Group is an integral part of the BSE’s capital market development strategy, which primarily aims at attracting new issuers. This provides international training and networking opportunities for Hungarian medium-sized companies with outstanding growth potential, helping them prepare for an investment by the National Stock Exchange Development Fund or even for listing on the BSE Xtend market for medium-sized businesses,

said BSE Chairman and CEO Richárd Végh at the panel discussion.

The conference concluded with a gala business dinner, with investors of the UK-Hungary Business Council, representatives of the largest market-cap companies of the London Stock Exchange as well as financial, IT and other consultants in attendance.