The first ETF based on BET-BK index of BVB opens new opportunities to invest into Romanian companies

Nikolay Vassilev, Executive Director Expat AM: We have identified Romania as one of the very attractive markets with strong potential – both in terms of price appreciation and possible new listings
Lucian Anghel, BVB President: It is a premier for the Romanian capital market that an ETF having as underlying the BET-BK index of BVB is launched and traded on a foreign trading venue

Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) announces that it has entered an agreement with Expat Asset Management for the licensing of BET-BK index, created and managed by BVB, to be used as underlying for the Expat Romania BET-BK UCITS ETF. The ETF is traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange – Sofia (BSE) and is among a family of ETFs tracking the performance of major equity indices in the CEE region.

“We have identified Romania as one of the very attractive markets with strong potential – both in terms of price appreciation and possible new listings. We have chosen BET-BK as the main index for this ETF as it includes 25 companies – neither too many (which would make running such a fund too difficult), nor too few (which would mean smaller diversification). As a result, we have created Expat Romania BET-BK UCITS ETF – one of the first 5 ETFs created by Expat Asset Management,” said Nikolay Vassilev, Executive Director of Expat Asset Management.

“It is a premier for the Romanian capital market that an ETF having as underlying the BET-BK index of BVB is launched and traded on a foreign trading venue. We welcome the initiative of Expat Asset Management to issue this type of open ended fund that offers to investors the possibility to take exposure to the companies listed at BVB and included in the BET-BK index, an index designed in the first place to be used as benchmark and underlying for investment funds,” said Lucian Anghel, President of the Board of Governors of BVB.

Expat Romania BET-BK UCITS ETF was launched last month, and has reported great success among Bulgarian investors. “So far our Romanian ETF has attracted more interest that the ETFs covering Greece, Poland, and the Czech Republic. But the real growth is yet to start. Based on the 16-month experience with our Bulgarian ETF, we would expect the Romanian ETF to reach EUR 50-100 million within a couple of years, especially if it is listed on several international exchanges, which is our intention,” stated the Executive Director of Expat AM.

BET-BK (Bucharest Exchange Trading Benchmark index) is an index launched by BVB that was designed to be used as a benchmark and underlying by asset managers. It includes the most liquid 25 Romanian and foreign companies listed on BVB’s main market and its calculation methodology accounts for the liquidity of the companies included.