In addition to a comprehensive conference program including more than 40 workshops, lectures, and panel discussions, as well as a large exhibition, over 50 companies are presenting their business models and growth prospects at the forum with the aim of finding investors for their equity financing. More than 180 listed companies are using the German Equity Forum to hold their investor and analyst conferences on their Q3 2005 figures, while ten listed companies from Greece are participating in the forum this year for the first time.
"This year's record levels of attendance at the German Equity Forum confirms the financial community's growing interest in new forms of equity financing," said Rudolf Ferscha, member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse AG, who went on to note that the introduction of the Entry Standard had enabled Deutsche Börse to expand its primary market offering. According to Mr. Ferscha, the Entry Standard provides small and medium-sized companies in particular with cost-effective capital market access combining low regulatory requirements with heightened investor visibility. He said that the Entry Standard was aimed at experienced investors who are able to assess the risks in a less regulated market environment.
Together with the Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies (CEFS) at the Technical University of Munich (Technische Universität München), Deutsche Börse worked to develop an IPO sentiment indicator, which compiles the opinions of selected market participants on the IPO environment, in order to promote the primary market. The indicator is designed to forecast primary market activity on the German equity market. The IPO sentiment indicator will be published quarterly, offering investors, issuers, and banks an additional basis for primary and secondary market analysis.
Hans W. Reich, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of the KfW Banking Group, stressed the importance of the Equity Forum for the German economy. "If we want to create more growth and more jobs in Germany, we need high-growth, innovative companies that have access to financing via efficient equity markets." KfW Mittelstandsbank has been involved in promoting the market for years, and in 2003 and 2004 alone, agreed to provide over €600 million in equity capital to finance small and medium-sized companies. This means that KfW was involved in one half of all equity financing projects during this period.
Deutsche Börse and KfW Mittelstandsbank have been hosting the German Equity Forum twice a year since 1996, thus providing active support for corporate equity financing. The fall event is oriented towards companies in the later stages of financing, as well as listed companies, whereas the spring event focuses on the early stage field. Over 1,300 companies have used the forum in previous years to present their business models to well-known investors. Half of the exhibiting companies found equity financing or cooperation partners within a year. The forum is a platform for networking, sharing experiences, and entering into dialog both with and within the financial community.
