Alro enters the BET index thus Bucharest Stock Exchange’s main index extends to 16 companies for the first time in history

Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), a fundamental institution of the capital market, extends from 15 to 16 the number of companies that will be part of the BET and BET-TR indices. The Index Committee decided on March 4th to include Alro (ALR) in BET, the main index, and in BET-TR, the total return version of BET. It is for the first time in the history of the local capital market when these indices will include 16 companies, which means an unprecedented diversification of the sectors represented, and thus Alro becomes the first aluminum producer present in the two indices. The changes will come to effect from March 18th.

Alro’s shares started trading on BVB on October 16th, 1997. Currently, the company has a market capitalization of approximately RON 1.67bn, equivalent to EUR 352mn. Alro is a subsidiary of Vimetco N.V., a global primary and processed aluminum company, vertically integrated. Alro is one of the largest vertically integrated aluminum producers in Europe, based on capacity, with an installed production capacity of 265,000 tpa. The main markets for the company’s products are the European Union member states, but the company also exports to the USA and Asia.

BET (Bucharest Exchange Trading Index) is the first index developed by BVB and is the benchmark of the local capital market. Set up on September 19th, 1997, BET has had a maximum of 10 companies for nearly two decades. In March 2017, it was extended to 12 companies by including Conpet (COTE) and MedLife (M). CONPET’s main activity is pipeline and rail transport of domestic and imported crude oil, gasoline, condensate and liquid ethane to refineries in Romania, while MedLife is the largest private health service operator in Romania. By mid-2017, BET was expanded to 13 companies, with DIGI Communications N.V. (DIGI), an important provider of telecommunication services in Romania and Hungary. In September 2018, two other companies were included in the BET and BET-TR. This is the Sphera Franchise Group (SFG), one of the most important food service operators in Romania, and Purcari Wineries (WINE), the leading wine producer in Central and Eastern Europe.