Bucharest, April 25, 2019 – The Romanian Investor Relations Association (ARIR) announces the new methodology of the Whitebook on communication of Romanian listed companies. This initiative is aimed at promoting implementation of best practices in investor relations and compliance with the Bucharest Stock Exchange Corporate Governance Code, in line with the expectations of institutional and individual investors.

The new methodology seeks to promote a proactive approach in communicating with investors. This approach is key in order to enhance company visibility and build investor trust in today’s increasingly competitive capital markets.

The new methodology, inspired by best international practices in IR, is now available for public consultation at www.ir-romania.ro. Companies listed at the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) will have 6 months to comply with the new requirements. The maximum score is 10 and will be displayed on the www.bvb.ro website under each company profile and ARIR website after the evaluation will be done in December 2019. Compliance is to be assessed by evaluating the investor relations websites / IR sections of BVB listed companies. The new methodology includes 15 criteria for each of the following topics: investor relations team, corporate governance disclosure, engaging IR approach, interactive IR tools, analyst coverage and non-financial reporting.

The Whitebook on communication of Romanian listed companies is an original project of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, which has carried out three yearly assessments of the websites and email communications of 85 issuers from the Main Market. The findings were gathered in a consolidated report, the latest being released in October 2017. At the beginning of 2019, ARIR took over the ownership of this project and set up an expanded project team including stock exchange representatives, equity analysts, IR professionals, consultants and members of the academic field.