Daniela Secară, CEO of BT Capital Partners, took part in the Târgu Mureș edition of the conference BT Invest – How Romanian capital can grow together, organized by Banca Transilvania and Ziarul Financiar.

At the event, Daniela Secară spoke about financing opportunities via the capital market, entrepreneurs’ decisions to take their companies public, and investor interest in Romanian companies:

• Unlike even five years ago, when the Bucharest Stock Exchange needed both investors and issuers, we are now at a point where we have investors and we have capital, and more than ever we need companies to look to the capital market to raise finance. Not to replace bank lending, but to view the capital market as an alternative source of funding.
  
  
• The decision to list is not one made overnight. The conversations we have with entrepreneurs can last three years, and in some cases five, before they decide to go public.
  
  
• A stepping stone to the capital market can be bringing in an investment fund; later, together with that fund or a strategic investor, the company can pursue either an exit or a capital increase via the market.
  
  
• During the pandemic, Banca Transilvania ran a campaign called “Buy from those around you,” encouraging people to buy products close to home from Romanian entrepreneurs. What we observed in 2019-2020, when there were more listings, was that more and more people were investing and buying shares in Romanian companies. It’s a trend we would like to see continue. “Buy from those around you” refers not only to Romanian companies’ products, but also to their shares, as a way to support Romanian entrepreneurs.
  
  
• We continue to see the next three years as years of growth and we are optimistic. From the stock market’s perspective as well, we expect to see more companies coming to the capital market. Entrepreneurs such as Cris-Tim or Electroalfa, who have decided to list, have prompted others to ask themselves: how can I get there too, and how can I have this option, both for exit and for long-term alternative financing?
  
  

You can watch the full event here.