On 8 February 2023 the Latvian Capital Market Forum 2023 "Growth Loves Those Who Dare" organised by Latvijas Banka took place. The aim of the forum – to promote expert discussions and institutional cooperation in order to develop Latvia's capital market and maximise its potential.
Registration and welcome coffee from 8.30 9.00 Forum opening (in English) Opening address Mārtiņš Kazāks, Governor, Latvijas Banka Krišjānis Kariņš, Prime Minister of Latvia Arvils Ašeradens, Minister of Finance of Latvia Keynote speech Verena Ross, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority "Challenges and Opportunities of the European Capital Markets" (in English) 9.40–12.30 Part I Opportunities of Private Investors in the European Union 9.40 Panel discussion: Investment in the European Union – Capital Markets Union from Intention to Action (in English) Panellists: Moderator: Ivars Bergmanis, investment banker specialising in Baltic capital markets 10.55 Coffee break 11.25 Sari Lounasmeri, CEO, Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion Presentation "Why are Finns successful investors? Development of investment culture in Finland" (in English) Panel discussion: Behaviour of Private Investors in the Baltic Capital Markets (in English) Panellists: Moderator: Kaspars Peisenieks, executive manager, Investoru Klubs 12.30 Lunch break 13.30–15.50 Part II Capital Market Opportunities for Companies 13.30 "The J. Molner Company" case study, Jason Grenfell-Gardner, founder (in English) 13.45 Panel discussion: Capital Market – More Than a Source of Funding? Panellists: Moderator: Māris Vainovskis, Senior Partner, ZAB "Eversheds Sutherland Bitāns" 14.30 Coffee break 14.45 Uldis Rutkaste, Head of the Monetary Policy Department, Latvijas Banka Presentation "How to Finance the Development of a Company during the Period of the High Interest Rates?" 15.00 Panel discussion: Role of the Capital Market in the Funding of Sustainable Economy Panellists: Moderator: Daiga Auziņa-Melalksne, Chair of the Board, AS Nasdaq Riga 15.50 Concluding remarks Santa Purgaile, Deputy Governor, Latvijas Banka 16:00–18:00 Informal discussions, networking Your Excellency Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, Minister of Finance Arvils Ašeradens, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen! I'm truly honoured to open our annual Capital Markets Forum. This year it’s very ambitiously titled "Growth loves those who dare". And it certainly does! And we do dare. I like the ambition because it is what drives growth forward. Previously this forum was organized and spearheaded by FCMF. Since January 1st this year FCMC has joined Latvijas Banka. We are now a much broader and stronger team with a more forceful and comprehensive view and more aligned set of tools to support and drive financial sector development. My former FCMC colleagues are now my current colleagues at the central bank and Santa Purgaile – as decisively as ever – will continue to spearhead both this forum and our work to grow and develop Latvian Capital markets. Why are capital markets so important? It’s because it’s all about the health, dynamism, and resilience of our economy. Ultimately of course it’s about the incomes, wellbeing, sustainability, and quality of life of our society. Incomes, productivity, economic growth are all driven by investments. Unfortunately, we see that investment activity in Latvia has been falling behind that of our peers. As a society we must do better than that. Richer, more developed, more dynamic, and more diversified capital markets is one element which has been so far grossly underutilized; it hides great potential to reinvigorate investments and grow the Latvian economy. And not only the Latvian economy – we think much bigger; we think that it’s about the Baltics and Europe. In 2021 we started the tradition of organizing Latvian Capital Markets forum by bringing together industry professionals, entrepreneurs, public administration, and investors. To identify and address the issues that must be resolved to realize the untapped potential of capital markets, in 2020 the FCMC together with the Latvian capital market participants, developed a 10-step programme for the development of the Latvian capital market. This 10-step programme consists of three key building blocks which interact with each other - issuers, investors, and the government. We paid careful attention to those blocks and together with our public and private sector partners derived concrete action plans to be included in the National Financial sector Development Plan for 2021-2023. Our partners have assessed our work so far on the ten-point scale with 8.5. I can truly say – well done. Well done, it’s good, but clearly indicates potential for further improvement. More work is needed to open possibilities for domestic and foreign capital flows to fund business investment, to provide investors with an opportunity to invest in the development of the Latvian economy. The size and liquidity is very important for capital market. Unfortunately so far we see that it is still very small and there is a long way to go. The glass is clearly in this respect half empty rather than half full. The need for stronger, deeper, truly dynamic, and diversified capital markets is acute in all of Europe. Capital Markets Union is a no brainer – yes, we all would benefit from stronger and more integrated capital markets. It has a clear political support. Yet technically it’s a very complex project to deliver. There is lots of nitty-gritty work. It involves a very broad set of participants. For instance, it does not suffice that Ministry of Finance cooperates with the central bank. It requires coordinated involvement of Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Economics, and many others. Therefore, I am especially glad to see among us today Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš since creation of vibrant capital market requires support and participation across all parts of the government and across countries. Ladies and gentlemen, let me thank you for your participation in today’s forum. I am sure that we shall have insightful and productive discussions. And these discussions will be followed by resolve and implementation of the action plan. Thank you! Mārtiņš Kazāks, Governor of Latvijas Banka, Krišjānis Kariņš, Prime Minister of Latvia, and Arvils Ašeradens, Minister of Finance of Latvia, opened the forum, and Verena Ross, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, gave a keynote speech "Challenges and Opportunities of the European Capital Markets". Panellists: Moderator: Ivars Bergmanis, investment banker specialising in Baltic capital markets Presentation "Why are Finns successful investors? Development of investment culture in Finland" by Sari Lounasmeri, CEO, Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion Panellists: Moderator: Kaspars Peisenieks, executive manager, Investoru Klubs Jason Grenfell-Gardner, founder of "The J. Molner Company", shared his experience at Latvian Capital Market Forum 2023. "J. Molner" is a pharmaceutical company with Estonian roots. In 2022 the shares of the company were admitted to trading on the "First North Market" by "Nasdaq Tallinn".
Forum opening
Panel discussion: Investment in the European Union – Capital Markets Union from Intention to Action
Presentation and panel discussion: Behaviour of Private Investors in the Baltic Capital Markets
"The J. Molner Company" case study