By 2027 market capitalisation should reach at least 9% of GDP, said Latvian Minister of Finance Arvils Ašeradens in a conversation with journalists on Wednesday, the 29th of March.
At the same time, the minister said when it comes to the topic of market capitalisation, coalition partner Combined List is a ‘large stumbling stone’.
Currently capitalisation of Latvia’s market is at around 3% of GDP. The average level in the European Union is 54% of GDP. In Estonia it is 17.4% of GDP. In Lithuania it is 9.3% of GDP.
In Luxembourg market capitalisation reaches 120% of GDP.
Ašeradens said the stock market turnover in Latvia was EUR 11.4 million last year (EUR 377.9 million in Estonia and EUR 240.2 million in Lithuania).
An increase of the stock market’s capitalisation is planned to help develop the capital market. It is also planned to increase the activity of residents as investors, as well as promote investment activity in Latvia, said the minister. He explained that to accomplish this goal, it is important to continue promoting airBaltic and Conexus Baltic Grid shares towards initial public offerings. It is also necessary to prepare Latvenergo’s and Latvian State Forests’ joint company Latvijas vēja parki LLC for IPO.
Ašeraden adds it is worth directing Riga municipality’s companies Rīgas ūdens and Rīgas satiksme transition to the stock exchange. He allowed for the possibility of telecommunications company Tet subsidiary – construction company Citrus Solutions – transitioning to the stock market.
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