- Experts highlight public and private alternative financing channels for small and medium-sized companies, such as BME Growth and MARF
- Investors and companies stress how ESG investing is profitable and has become a structural trend rather than a fad
- Tomorrow, Jos Dijsselhof, CEO of SIX and Chairman of BME, will reflect on the access by small and medium-sized enterprises to financial markets.
The second day of the Medcap Forum again combined private meetings between companies and investors with panels dealing with different issues of interest. There were 1,700 connections via streaming to the various panels and Discovery Meetings sessions.
The first round table of the day, entitled "Alternative public-private financing" and moderated by José Antonio Barrena, General Manager of Norgestión, focused on the different initiatives that promote the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises, both in the public and private sectors. Speakers from Agile Content, Axis, Inveready and Axon Partners highlighted the value of BME Growth, the stock market for SMEs, and the relevant role played by of such actors as cross-over funds, which invest in companies before their IPO, and debt or hybrid funds.
Gonzalo Gómez Retuerto, General Manager of BME Renta Fija, took part in the panel on the opportunities this market offers to investors and issuers, centred on MARF. He was accompanied by Antonio García-Zarandieta, CFO of CAF; Raúl Gómez, CFO of Vidrala; Anna Karina Sirkia, Fixed Income Fund Manager-Partner at EDM Group and Raquel Arechabala, Norbolsa's investment and business director, who moderated the debate. The participants praised the role of MARF as a financing alternative and highlighted its enormous appeal for investors, as well as its great progress since its launch, in 2013. This market has just exceeded 100 issuers.
In the afternoon, the debate pivoted on one of the main current topics in the financial markets, ESG investment. Under the title "ESG: Fad or long-term trend?", Carlota Pi, Executive Chairwoman of Holaluz; Jon Armentia, CFO of Lar España; Iker Barrón, CEO of Portocolom, and Antonio Madera, Head of Sovereign & Financial Institutions at Axesor Rating, spoke about the growing importance of sustainable finance.
The main conclusion from the panel discussion, moderated by José Antonio Tamayo, General Manager of Markets at GVC Gaesco, was that the demand for ESG investment keeps growing and that sustainability criteria are not only a plus, but can even detract investments and opportunities for companies that don’t take them into account. In his opinion, these criteria are already a key part of the financial environment. The speakers agreed on the need for companies to commit to the future and to improving society and called for uniformity in ESG standards.
The day ended with a panel that focussed on REITs as attractive investment alternatives. Elías Rodríguez-Viña, General Manager of Renta 4 Corporate, pointed out that the REITs listed on BME Growth have a combined capitalisation of more than 12 billion euros and highlighted how varied these vehicles are, which makes them very attractive to investors. Representatives from Almagro, Vitruvio, Millenium Hotels and All Iron introduced their respective companies and discussed the future for REITs.
The leitmotiv of tomorrow's session will be the importance of the financial markets as a financing instrument for all types of companies. The third and final day of the Forum will begin at 9 am with Jos Dijsselhof, CEO of SIX and Chairman of BME, who will speak on market access for small and medium-sized enterprises in the context of Covid-19. Directly afterwards, José Carlos García de Quevedo, Chairman of ICO, will join the event.
The rest of the day's panels will focus on the role of the stock market as an efficient growth tool for companies, the impact of the crisis on strategic sectors and the health and biotechnology sectors.
You can find more information about the Medcap Forum at:
https://www.foromedcap.es/ing/Home
The photos of the event are available here:
