BME - Bolsas y Mercados Españoles Sociedad Holding de Mercados y Sistemas Financieros SA

11/22/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/22/2021 12:05

Javier Hernani and Thomas Zeeb highlight the role of the stock exchange as a gateway to Latin America

Opening of the 23rd Latibex Forum

  • The CEO of BME reaffirmed the commitment to the region, while the Global Head of Exchanges of SIX highlighted the importance of the markets for the business fabric
  • 63% of the more than 100 registered investors come from outside Spain, most of them from Europe, but also form such countries as the US, Asia, Canada and Singapore
  • The Secretary of State for the Economy and Business Support, Gonzalo García Andrés, highlighted the boost given by the financial markets to the economic recovery after Covid-19
  • Senior managers and experts from companies on both sides of the Atlantic reflect on the economic recovery in the region after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Javier Hernani, CEO of BME, and Thomas Zeeb, Global Head of Exchanges, SIX, today opened the twenty-third edition of the Latibex Forum in the Madrid stock exchange. The event will bring together more than 60 companies and 100 investors from all over the world in virtual format until November 24th through more than 500 one-on-one meetings. 63% of investors come from outside Spain. Of these, most come from Europe, with a strong presence of British investors, although there are also investors from Australia, the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

In his speech, the CEO of BME highlighted the good macroeconomic outlook for the region, following the Covid-19 crisis, and stressed BME's more than two decades of commitment to Latin America. "A commitment that is embodied in the projects we are carrying out in Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica and Bolivia. We are determined to contribute to the growth of the region and to boost its financial markets through our subsidiary, BME Latam, which has an office in Bogota, from there it covers the services we offer throughout the region," he explained.

Thomas Zeeb said: "As a result, developing the stock exchanges as a financing tool is essential for the region's finance systems - not only for increasing the size of the funds available to companies, but also for diversifying their sources of financing". He also highlighted Latin America and Asia as two new growth pillars for SIX following the acquisition of BME.

The special guest at the opening of the Forum was Gonzalo García Andrés, Secretary of State for Economy and Business Support. In his speech, he highlighted how the financial markets have helped the business fabric and domestic economies on both sides of the Atlantic to face the pandemic, through great public-private collaboration. "We are not facing an economic rebound, but rather the possibility of emerging from the pandemic with a transformative impulse and laying the foundations for a more sustainable and inclusive economy," he said.

The first panel of the day, entitled "Risks and Opportunities in a post-COVID Latin America", brought together Fernando Ruiz, Chairman of Deloitte; João Marques da Cruz, CEO of EDP Energías do Brasil (a company that recently joined the Latibex market); Mario Ruiz-Tagle, CEO of Neoenergía, and Victor Matarranz, Senior Executive Vice President and Global Head of Wealth Management & Insurance at Santander. All of them agreed on their positive outlook on the region's future.

The inaugural panel was followed by the round-table discussion "New growth drivers for Latin America's economic recovery", featuring Fernando Honorato, Chief Economist of Bradesco; José Antonio Llorente, Founder and President of LLYC; Juan Cerruti, Chief Economist of Santander, and Delia Paredes, Economist of the Universidad Anáhuac. The panel was moderated by Pablo Adrián Hardy, Head of Economics and Business of the Ibero-American General Secretariat, Segib. All of them explained their macroeconomic outlook for Latin America and expressed their confidence in the strength of the region's economic recovery, which is highly dependent on the evolution of the vaccination process and of the pandemic.

Tomorrow's programme, available here, features three panel discussions. The first, from 12:00 to 13:00 hrs (Spanish time), will bring together managers from Fidelity, Renta 4 and Schroders to discuss investment opportunities in the region. From 15:30 hrs the panel will be concerned with energy and the real transition to a green economy, with Cemig, EDP Energias do Brasil, Naturgy and Neoenergia. The last panel of the day will start at 17 hrs and representatives from Meliá International Hotels, Portocolom and Santander will reflect on the opportunities in the incorporation of sustainable practices in the region.

Santander, Grupo Salinas and Deloitte are the main sponsors of the Latibex Forum, which also has Morningstar, ICEX, Economática and Wtv. as sponsors, and Instituto BME, IEAF, CFA Society Spain, Inari, Atribus and Fundación Chile-España as collaborators.

This is the link to register for the Latibex Forum.

All photos are available on Flickr.