From EBRD
The Research Coverage Programme, an initiative launched by the EBRD and funded by the TaiwanBusiness EBRD Cooperation Fund, has launched online with the aim to increase the public availability of equity research of listed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and address the information gap in coverage for under-researched listed companies. Especially in times of high market volatility the availability of reliable information and research coverage is crucial to make informed investment decisions.
The 2-year Programme supports equity research coverage of 20 companies listed on the exchanges in Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. The research reports will be available free of charge on the dedicated dissemination hub established for publishing and distributing equity research reports.
The first group of research reports will be published on 20 May and form the basis of the online discussion on 21 May. It will be the first of a series of reports produced for the duration of the Programme until late-2022.
WOOD&Co has been selected as the independent consultant responsible for the research coverage programme, including the preparation of research initiation reports, follow-up reports based on periodical results as well as ad-hoc updates on major corporate events.
The reports will be prepared independently based on disclosed financial reports. Research material in preparation is not disclosed to the companies under coverage, the EBRD or the stock exchanges prior to publication. The editorial rights are held by WOOD&Co.
The companies considered for the Programme met the SME growth market issuers criteria as stipulated in MiFID II. Additional selection conditions included regular reporting in English, sizable free float and not having established research coverage. The finally selected companies entered into MoUs with the partner exchanges.
The Programme is fully aligned with the objectives of the Capital Markets Union Action Plan on “Building a Capital Markets Union,” published by the European Commission, which specifically mentions “improving access to finance, including risk capital, notably for SMEs” as one of the five priority areas for development.
