LSE scouts come to Romania

London Stock Exchange (LSE) is planning for a number of Romanian companies to be floated on one of the two markets it operates based on the belief that Romanian companies are becoming increasingly interesting to foreign investors. LSE representatives recently came Bucharest to try and convince Romanian companies to float on the London market. “We came to Romania to hold talks with various Romanian companies, both large and small, with a view to a possible listing on the London Stock Exchange,” said Jon Edwards, LSE”s senior manager for CEE and CIS, at a conference organised by Piata Financiara. He did not reveal the names of the companies involved. Romanian companies are still reluctant to go public, with the last 12 months seeing only two initial public offerings being held with a view to floatation. “The number of floatations is expected to increase soon,” Edwards said. The London Stock Exchange is one of the world”s largest capital markets with a total capitalisation of more than 5,000bn euros, 500 times the value of the Bucharest Stock Exchange. ZF