Bucharest Stock Exchange receives ASF approval for new Multilateral Trading System Code
The Bucharest Stock Exchange announced on Friday, August 28, that Romania’s Financial Supervisory Authority has approved the new Multilateral Trading System Code.
According to the BVB press release, the new Code represents one of the most significant modernizations of the Multilateral Trading System in recent years. It organizes the system into three distinct markets: SME Growth Market – dedicated to expanding companies; Base Market (AeRO Market) – intended for issuers not included in the Growth Market; International MTS – dedicated to financial instruments admitted to trading on regulated markets or equivalent MTS from other jurisdictions.
The change “aligns the market operated by BVB with European models designed for small and medium-sized enterprise financing, through a clearer, more rigorous, and growth-oriented framework,” the same source added.
“The new Multilateral Trading System Code marks a strategic step forward in the development of the Romanian capital market. By creating the SME Growth Market, we offer SMEs – the backbone of the Romanian economy – and high-potential companies a clear pathway toward funding, visibility, and maturity, while providing investors with a framework built on transparency, corporate governance, and high-quality standards,” said Remus Vulpescu, CEO of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
The SME Growth Market also introduces a modern admission and monitoring framework, the press release added. Companies will be able to raise capital through equity or bond issues, via public offers as well as private placements, leveraging a platform specifically designed to support their growth and prepare them for a future transfer to the Main Market.
Issuer classification on the SME Growth Market will be carried out based on a scoring model outlined in the Code, which evaluates both mandatory requirements and additional criteria such as corporate governance, transparency, and organizational maturity.
The Code update is part of BVB's strategy to modernize the local capital market and aligns with European best practices for SME-dedicated markets, offering entrepreneurs a more competitive financing mechanism and investors a framework with higher standards of transparency, discipline, and monitoring.
The Growth Market will benefit from a dedicated benchmark index, initially comprising the most representative issuers on the AeRO Market that opt for reclassification to the Growth Market and meet the applicable eligibility criteria. The index may subsequently serve as the basis for the development of investment products designed to track its performance, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The effective date of the new Multilateral Trading System Code and the launch date of the SME Growth Market will be announced at a later stage.
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