BME sponsors the SME Awards and hosts the Conference of the Federation of European Stock Exchanges (FESE) in Bilbao

• Spanish companies Arteche, Axon Partners and Sngular are nominated for awards promoted by the European Commission, European Issuers and FESE.
• FESE conference to address issues such as Capital Markets Union and retail investment in financial markets

Bilbao will be the European capital of financial markets next week. The city will host SME Week 2023, a meeting promoted by the European Commission in the framework of Spain's rotating presidency of the European Council.

BME is joining this initiative and the Bilbao Stock Exchange will host the Small and Mid-Cap Awards (SME Awards) on Tuesday, November 14 and the FESE Conference on Wednesday, November 15. BME will sponsor the awards ceremony and host the conference, which each year addresses the current issues in the European markets.

The awards are promoted by the European Commission, European Issuers and FESE, and seek to recognize the success stories of small and mid-cap listed companies. Spanish companies Arteche, Axon Partners and Sngular, all listed on BME Growth, are nominated in the categories of Innovation Star, International Star and 2023 Star, respectively. Manuel Ardanza, President of the Bilbao Stock Exchange, will participate in the awards ceremony. The award ceremony can be followed at this link.

On Wednesday, the FESE Conference will be held. Beatriz Alonso-Majagranzas, Head of BME Exchanges, will welcome the attendees. She will be followed by Petr Koblic, President of FESE; Jesús González, General Manager of BME Growth and BME Scaleup, and Tatyana Panova, Director of the Capital Markets Union Unit of FISMA (European Commission), among other capital markets experts.

The conference will feature two panels: "Improving the competitiveness of the European Union's listing regime", which will discuss the Listing Act and initiatives to facilitate IPOs in the EU, and "Unlocking the potential of European investment for the real economy", which will discuss the high level of savings of European citizens and how increased retail investment could drive growth in the region. It will be streamed here. 

"We are very pleased to host these two events in Bilbao where we will be able to discuss issues that are very relevant for the future of the European Union. At BME we are convinced that boosting the presence of small and medium-sized companies on the stock market is crucial for the EU economy as a whole. The more companies are financed through the markets, the stronger the economy of the member countries will be. Therefore, all steps taken in the direction of facilitating access to the markets for companies, such as the Listing Act, are more than welcome. The Spanish stock exchange offers liquidity, access to international investors, transparency and the best financing alternative for companies. It is important that these advantages are available to all types of companies" explains Beatriz Alonso, Head of BME Exchanges.

You can consult the program of the FESE Conference at this link.