On 15 November maib participated in the inaugural Moldovan Capital Markets Day held at the London Stock Exchange, an event organised by maib in partnership with the London Stock Exchange and Renaissance Capital. Moldovan Capital Markets Day presented an opportunity to open Moldova up to the international investor community and highlight the progress of the country and its vision, as well as introduce some of the most successful companies from Moldova. It featured the Prime Minister of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilita, who took part in the Market Open ceremony and gave the opening speech of the forum. She was joined by Julia Hoggett, the CEO of the London Stock Exchange, Odile Renaud-Basso, the President of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, and Octavian Armașu, the Governor of the National Bank of Moldova.
Following the opening speeches the event featured two panels with the first panel consisting of the representatives of the international financial institutions and the National Bank of Moldova. The second panel featured maib’s CEO Giorgi Shagidze as well as the top management of two other well known Moldovan companies. 
After the panel discussions the participants took part in the question and answer session with the audience.
Moldovan macroeconomic prospects and investment climate were discussed by Vladimir Munteanu, First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Moldova, Rodgers Brenner Chawani, IMF Permanent Representative to Moldova (online), Inguna Dobraja, World Bank Country Director for the Republic Moldova, Angela Sax, Head of the EBRD Representation in the Republic of Moldova and Bayan Carter, Associate Director, Private Equity, EBRD. The participants highlighted some common themes such as
- strong willingness for deeper EU integration,
- new government’s mandate to strengthen the rule of law and eradicate corruption,
- very prudent regulatory regime installed after the turbulent years for the banking system,
- low public sector debt, stable currency, strong GDP growth of recent years,
- very low penetration of banking services compared to peer countries.
Moldovan equity capital markets: a company’s perspective, in which three leading companies in Moldova, represented by Giorgi Shagidze maib CEO, Eoin Woods, Technical Director, Endava, Vasile Tofan, President of the Purcari Board of Directors, reported on the challenges they were facing, the development agenda, but also some of the advantages presented by the relatively uncrowded market in Moldova.
Giorgi Shagidze, maib CEO, said:
“I would like to thank the London Stock Exchange and Renaissance Capital for their gracious help in making this event possible. I would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to all the participants and the speakers. It is of vital importance for the future of the country and for maib as the leader of the banking sector to highlight the attraction of the Moldovan economy and its banking sector. These include low debt to GDP environment, a very stable currency rate and active integration with the European Union with up to 70% of Moldova’s exports going to the EU. Stable currency, low public and private debt, strong banking sector with capital and liquidity buffers poised for sustainable growth.”
The recordings of the event can be viewed here.
About maib
Maib is the largest bank in Moldova, with a 34% share of loans and 31% share of deposits of the entire banking system. The bank serves nearly 30% of the country's population and is one of the largest employers in the country. Maib’s medium term targets include 40% market share in loans, 55% share in payments, under 45% cost-to-income ratio and 20%+ return on equity to be achieved by 2024. Since 2018, the bank's largest shareholder is a consortium which includes European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Invalda INVL, a leading asset management group in the Baltics, and Horizon Capital, a private investment fund focused on emerging markets in Europe.
---
DISCLAIMER: Issuers of press releases – not the news agency IPN – are fully responsible for the accuracy and essence of the content submitted for publication and/or distribution.