Progress Market: Zagreb Stock Exchange Awards 2020

December 18, 2020 - The Zagreb Stock Exchange Awards were presented for the ninth time in Zagreb.
 


In 2012, the Zagreb Stock Exchange founded the Zagreb Stock Exchange Awards with an aim to strenghten the recognition of the capital market and its active participants among the financial and general public.
 
Award Committee of the Zagreb Stock Exchange presented awards to winners in the following categories: Top Turnover Share, Top Price Gainer, Top Turnover Gainer, Member of the Year, ZSE Academy Award for Contribution to Capital Market Education, Award for Contribution to the Capital Market Development, Share of the Year.
 
Since 2018, as part of the awards ceremony, PwC Croatia, in cooperation with the Zagreb Stock Exchange, has been awarding its Building Public Trust Award to companies that stand out for their quality reporting.
 
Ivana Gažić, President of the Management Board of the Zagreb Stock Exchange, expressed satisfaction that this award ceremony has become a traditional event aimed at continuously identifying and rewarding positive examples in our market: In these difficult times we wanted to further emphasize the positive examples from the Croatian capital market. Despite everything, a lot of positive things happened on the Zagreb Stock Exchange: we had 4 new issues of shares on the regulated market, the Prime Market with the entry of Croatian telecom now has 6 companies, there is also our Progress market for SMEs, and together with Funderbeam SEE we create an environment where companies can raise capital at all stages of its growth. The listing of the first ETFs, which provided investors with access to this attractive financial instrument, was extremely significant. This year, we had 14% more education and participants, the indices have recovered, and trade statistics show that the market was quite livel. We are celebrating a full 5 years since we became the owners of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange and a year since we have a share in the Macedonian Stock Exchange. Despite the circumstances, about 900 individuals gathered at our numerous events, exchanging knowledge, experiences and getting to know our companies. When we draw the line, we can say that 2020 was a very successful year for the Zagreb Stock Exchange.
 


The award for the share with the highest turnover was presented to Daniel Daub, a member of the Management Board and CFO of Croatian Telecom: We are proud to receive the ‘Top Turnover Share’ award which recognizes Hrvatski Telekom’s achievements during this year and our status as a top performer in the Croatian capital market.
 Our turnover in the first eleven months of 2020 was HRK 485 million, meaning we recorded a 40% yoy growth which at the same time represents 18.4% of the total equity turnover on the Zagreb Stock Exchange. Especially in a year such as this with a lot of turbulence in the economy and the capital markets we are happy to be a resilient investment that people turn to in times like these. Also, we are no stranger to winning this award, having done it 5 times in a row from 2012 to 2016, but it is the first time since then and with all due respect to other players in the market we’ll do our best to do repeat this success on 2021.
 
The Ericsson Nikola Tesla share was declared the Share with the largest price and turnover increase: I am happy that the share of Ericsson Nikola Tesla has won two awards - for the largest increase in turnover and the largest increase in price. It is a year of great challenges for all of us, a particularly important success because these awards are a reflection of our perseverance and public confidence in what we do. As a technological leader, the largest Croatian exporter of knowledge and a socially responsible entrepreneur who nurtures true values, we have been around for more than 70 years. Not only have we been operating for so long, but we have also made a significant contribution to the technological, economic and social development of our country and the global Ericsson, of which we are an associate member. When we had the hardest time, during this pandemic and earthquake, we did not give up or look for an alibi for failure, we found the strength and motivation to accelerate the digital transformation, improve our processes, develop our employees' knowledge and skills, promote and invest in innovation focus on people, their health and key business priorities and continuity. Through our work and commitment, we have ensured stable business results and created space for additional employment. In the most difficult times of crisis and various challenges, I believe that our leadership and organizational culture are showing their full strength.
Corporate governance and social responsibility are an integral part of our integrated management system, strategic determinants and our organizational culture that ensure the sustainable long-term development and survival of the company. We will continue in the same direction and best practice of transparent, quality and professional relationship and communication with all our stakeholders, including the investment community.
We are facing a new phase of development in Croatia and around the world - a digital transformation that will be further accelerated by the implementation of 5G as an open platform for innovation. Let's use the unique opportunity to unleash all the creative potentials that we as a society and individuals have. We show by our example that this is possible, said Gordana Kovačević, President of Ericsson Nikola Tesla.
 
Intercapital Securities won the Member of the Year award for the ninth time, and it was presented to Matko Maravić, President of the Management Board: We are extremely honored to receive the Zagreb Stock Exchange Award for Member of the Year and we believe that it confirms the correctness of our strategy of constant promotion of the domestic capital market. of our employees. Behind us is a very demanding year, primarily from the health aspect, and consequently from the economic one. On the other hand, recent months have brought a high dose of optimism as well as innovation in the form of listing the first ETFs on the ZSE. We believe that the positive trends from the end of the year will continue in 2021 and that the Zagreb Stock Exchange will be in the growing focus of both domestic and foreign investors. We will strive to continue to be leaders in development and we are sure that the rest of the community will join us.
 
Daniel Daub, Member of the Management Board and CFO, accepted the award for the Share of the Year according to the public's choice on behalf of Croatian Telecom: It is a great honor to receive the ‘Share of the Year’ award, as it is a clear confirmation that the financial community and public recognize the value we are creating for our shareholders. Since its IPO in 2007, Hrvatski Telekom has been constantly among the blue-chip companies in Croatia. In 2020 we were listed on the Prime Market, we increased our regular dividend by 14%, from HRK 7.00 to HRK 8.00, and also the level of share-buyback by 20% compared to 2019. We have actively contributed to the development of the capital market; we are recognized as a great long-term investment and we will continue to prove this in the years to come.
 
The award for contribution to the development of the capital market was taken over by Ivan Kurtović, President of the Management Board of InterCapital Asset Management: We are proud to have received recognition from the Zagreb Stock Exchange for the development of the capital market in a challenging year such as 2020. The award comes at a unique time, when we, as the first fund management company in Southeast Europe, launched the first ETFs in the domestic market. This represents a huge step forward in improving the offer of the domestic capital market because it offers, in a simple, cost-effective and extremely transparent way, investment in the best companies in Croatia and Slovenia. In addition to the launch of ETFs, we are proud to be the first in Croatia to sign a declaration on the principles of responsible investment, prescribed by the leading global promoter of responsible investment - the PRI Institute. Thus, we have set a high standard here and proved our great awareness of responsible investment and care for the environment, both in operating operations and in choosing our investments. During 2020, we made a big step in the digital transformation where we launched an online consultation and two-week webinars on various financial topics to encourage financial literacy of all citizens, especially at times when interest rates are at historically low levels and the availability of quality information be of great importance. Thank you to all colleagues for their effort, energy and enthusiasm who contribute to the whole business, because that is why we look more positively at the period ahead.
 
As part of the Zagreb Stock Exchange Awards Ceremony, the PwC Building Public Trust Award (BPTA), which has been awarded since 2018, was awarded this year as well.
 
The award was presented by Slaven Kartelo, Director of PwC Croatia: For the third year in a row, PwC Croatia, in cooperation with the Zagreb Stock Exchange, is awarding the prize for building public confidence for the most transparent reporting. The goal of this award is simple - to encourage organizations to build public trust and to recognize organizations that are at the forefront of open and honest reporting and communication. The COVID-19 pandemic brought lasting changes and forced organizations to reconsider their business continuity plans, making transparency and accountability never more important. This year's winner, Atlantic Grupa, as well as all the finalists, showed that it is part of their culture, which is still not the rule for everyone in our market. Congratulations to the winner and we hope that in this way we will contribute to the greater importance of transparency of reporting and building trust in society, which is our purpose.
 
Zoran Stanković, Vice President of Atlantic Grupa, added: Every award is gratifying, especially the one that rewards excellence in transparent and clear reporting and the quality of corporate governance because performance in these areas is dominant in the decision-making process. independently affect. Atlantic Grupa defined these areas as extremely important years ago, even long before the listing of our share on the Zagreb Stock Exchange. We are especially glad that the award was received this year, full of uncertainty and uncertainty in which transparent communication was even more important to all our stakeholders than usual.
 
The Zagreb Stock Exchange Academy Award for contribution to capital market education was received by Raiffeisen Pension Funds for the Raiffeisen Future Boost 2020 project. The award was accepted by Eva Horvat, Member of the Management Board of Raiffeisen Pension Company: Aware of our role as not only an institutional investor in the capital market, but also a financial institution in which more than 600,000 citizens save for retirement, we launch and implement financial literacy projects with the aim of raising knowledge, building trust and a better society as a whole.
During 2020, we suddenly faced a health, economic and social crisis, so this award makes us even more proud. Namely, we managed to design and provide innovative and relevant content in the above circumstances.
This award is just an incentive to continue to develop visions in the coming years in accordance with the values ​​we nurture and remain recognizable for excellence.
 
The award ceremony was concluded by Ivana Gažić, President of the Management Board of the Zagreb Stock Exchange, congratulating all the winners.
 
A video of the awards ceremony is available here.

 
Top Turnover Share Hrvatski Telekom
Top Price Gainer Ericsson Nikola Tesla
Top Turnover Gainer Ericsson Nikola Tesla
Member of the Year Interkapital vrijednosni papiri d.o.o.
ZSE Academy Award for Contribution to Capital Market Education Raiffeisen mirovinski fondovi
Award for Contribution to the Capital Market Development InterCapital Asset Management
Share of the Year Hrvatski Telekom
PwC Croatia Building Public Trust Award Atlantic Grupa