.jpg)
- The second Three Seas Stock Exchanges Conference is one of the highlights of the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW)
- During the first day, the participants discussed 30 years of GPW’s experience for the development of Central and Eastern European capital markets
- The guests included Piotr Ćwik, Deputy Chief of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the National Bank of Georgia, and the Central Bank of Armenia
- President of Poland Andrzej Duda is the honorary patron of GPW’s 30th anniversary
The Second Three Seas Stock Exchanges Conference was opened by Marek Dietl, President of the Management Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW). “We have so far had very close co-operation along the East-West axis. Now our exchanges need to focus on supporting North-South collaboration. Our region can prove itself when it comes to collaboration of its capital markets. The total turnover on the Three Seas Stock Exchanges crossed the mark of EUR 120 billion last year. The Three Seas Initiative helps smaller exchanges to be heard and get more recognition. However, our co-operation cannot remain limited to the Three Seas region, which is why I welcome the strong delegations from Armenia and Georgia. It is our responsibility to support their countries in their integration with global finance,” said Mr Dietl.
Deputy Chief of the Chancellery of the President of Poland Piotr Ćwik attended the event and delivered the address from President Andrzej Duda: “I recall the valuable discussions we had with the CEOs of the stock exchanges in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia in Kraków last year. I appreciate the continuation of the Three Seas Stock Exchanges Conference. I hope that its further editions will bring new ideas for collaboration of the capital markets of our region.”
In his letter to the conference participants, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki emphasised the importance of GPW to the economy: “The role of the capital market with the central position of the Warsaw Stock Exchange is invaluable to the real economy.” The address was delivered by Piotr Borowski, Member of the GPW Management Board.
The debate on “Thirty Years of GPW’s Experience for the Development of Central and Eastern European Capital Markets” moderated by Michał Piątek, GPW Director for Strategy and Research, featured Alexander Saveliev, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Nikoloz Gagua, National Bank of Georgia; Davit Nahapetyan, Central Bank of Armenia; and Marek Dietl, President of the GPW Management Board. The speakers discussed the milestones of the 30 years of GPW, the benefits and challenges of technology transfers among the Three Seas countries, and global trends in capital market integration.
Marek Dietl, President of the GPW Management Board, outlined the milestones of the Warsaw Stock Exchange over its thirty years in operation, including the promotion of Poland to Developed Markets by the index provider FTSE Russell: “Our key milestones and achievements include the promotion of Poland initially to Emerging Markets and in 2018 to Developed Markets.”
“The Georgian stock exchange is now at an earlier stage of development than GPW. We have to put in additional efforts to develop the Georgian capital markets in order to move to the next level of economic development. We will in the future focus on improved efficiency, and integration in the Three Seas region will play a key role,” said Nikoloz Gagua, National Bank of Georgia.
“Every post-Socialist country had to face the challenge of transition from a centrally controlled economy to an open market economy. Poland passed the test with flying colours. As the Polish capital market is now mature, GPW’s expertise can be useful in the development of the Armenian capital market, not least from the perspective of the central bank. We want to open up space for diversity in the financial system,” said Davit Nahapetyan, Central Bank of Armenia.
“We are trying hard to serve the goals and ambitions of our clients. Georgia is a success story as it has implemented restructuring with great results, also with our support. The driver of integration in the Three Seas region must evolve from aspirations to ambitions. It is high time to act together. Integration will take a lot of effort but it is worth its price,” said Alexander Saveliev, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, during the panel discussion “Thirty Years of GPW’s Experience for the Development of Central and Eastern European Capital Markets”.
In his presentation “GPW as a Technology Company”, Witold Wiliński, CEO of GPW Tech, outlined the technological development of the GPW Group which is a priority under the strategy #GPW2022. As a key part of the process, the company GPW Tech has been established to develop proprietary technology spanning the business segments of GPW. The CEO of GPW Tech stressed the importance of exchanging experience with information technology and related products across the Three Seas region.
“All the products we sell generate first-time user experience. As a technology company, GPW Tech is interested in Central and Eastern European markets due to shared cultural roots, as well as the countries of the Caucasus. Other regions of interest include the Middle East and Africa, as well as Latin America,” said Witold Wiliński, CEO of GPW Tech
The first day of the conference closed with a highlight of the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of GPW: the Anniversary Gala. The guests were invited to attend the premiere concert of the album “All Time Highs” released especially for GPW’s anniversary. The album is a collection of 16 compositions from films and television shows featuring the exchange and the world of finance, rearranged and recorded by acclaimed Polish musicians. To listen to the album, visit https://www.30latgpw.pl/cd.
Representatives of the press interested in participating in the second day of the Second Three Seas Stock Exchanges Conference may contact us at press@gpw.pl to get accreditation.
A live webcast will be available at https://www.gpw.pl/thethreeseasconference and on GPW’s YouTube channel. The Conference will proceed in English with simultaneous interpretation into Polish.
***
The Three Seas Initiative is an economic and political initiative of 12 EU Member States situated between the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Adriatic Sea. The initiative brings together Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The co-operation was initiated in 2015 by President of Poland Andrzej Duda and President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. The Three Seas Fund was established in 2019 on the initiative of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.
The Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW) is the co-founder and leader of the Three Seas Stock Exchanges initiative. The initiative includes GPW as well as six other European stock exchanges in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Croatia and Slovenia. GPW has for years fostered and developed co-operation of the Three Seas stock exchanges by hosting and participating in key events for the development of the region as an attractive venue for investors. The first Three Seas Stock Exchanges Conference took place in September 2020 in Kraków. President of Poland Andrzej Duda was the honorary patron of the event. The key objective of the Three Seas Stock Exchanges initiative is to develop co-operation of Central European exchanges in order to jointly promote their markets and companies and attract investors and capital. The CEEplus index published since 4 September 2019 covers the biggest and most liquid stocks listed on the markets of the Visegrad Group, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia. The index is the underlying of a passive fund managed by TFI PZU. The index portfolio includes 153 most liquid companies listed on the regulated markets of the Three Seas exchanges: Budapest (10), Bucharest (14), Ljubljana (5), Prague (7), Warsaw (114), Zagreb (3).
