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To assist small and medium-sized companies attract and maintain the interest of investors and analysts, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in conjunction with the Australasian Investor Relations Association (AIRA) will launch a one-day education course entitled ‘Investor Relations for SMEs’.
‘Investor Relations for SMEs’ addresses the particular needs of listed companies outside the ASX top 100. It will principally target senior executives (CEOs and CFOs) of SMEs, who often play multiple roles within their organisations.
The course will be run by AIRA and will feature presentations from some of Australia’s most experienced investor relations and capital market professionals. There will also be representatives from ASX who will discuss regulation and disclosure, market structure, capital raising and relevant operational aspects of ASX.
Richard Murphy, ASX General Manager, Equity Markets said: “There are over 2,000 listed companies outside the ASX top 100 and about 1,150 with a market capitalisation of less than $100 million. There is a need for greater appreciation of the importance of investor relations by small and mid-caps in the broader context of attracting and retaining the interest of institutional and retail investors. An effective investor relations program enables companies to deal with the media and equity analysts. Importantly, it is also a tool that can be used to increase liquidity and raise capital.”
Ian Matheson, Chief Executive Officer, AIRA said: “We are delighted to be working with the ASX to expand our professional development courses to a wider group of listed entities. As small listed entities grow, the need to understand how the investment community operates becomes more and more important. The one-day course that we will be offering with the ASX is designed to give directors and senior executives of SME listed entities a practical overview of the practice of investor relations.”
The course will be offered throughout Australia and will commence on 3 October 2007 in Brisbane, followed by Perth on 12 October 2007, with other states to follow. For more information: www.aira.org.au
