Bucharest, 17 May 2023 – ARIR (the Romanian Investor Relations Association), the promoter of the Investor Relations (IR) concept, announces that, at its initiative, in collaboration with KPMG Legal – Toncescu și Asociații SPRL, and with the support of the Financial Supervisory Authority and the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the introduction of two new codes in the Classification of Occupations in Romania (COR), dedicated to the positions of Investor Relations Director (COR 121920) and Investor Relations Specialist (COR 241272), was obtained. The two codes have also become usable in the Revisal platform as of April 10, 2023. Thus, ARIR estimates an increase in the number of people who are trained in this field and greater attention from the companies on the recruitment of specialized personnel, the human resources market in IR being consolidated.
Daniela Șerban, President and Co-founder of ARIR:
“The inclusion in the Classification of Occupations in Romania of the positions of Specialist and Director for Investor Relations is a sign of the evolution and maturity of the Romanian capital market. It is a recognition of the efforts and growing role that listed companies give to people working in this field, facilitating communication between listed companies and investors. It is an important success of ARIR in promoting investor relations activity in Romania and in simplifying the employment of personnel in these specific positions. We have had a very good collaboration with all the institutions involved in this process and we thank them for the support provided to the IR community.”
Adrian Tănase, CEO, Bucharest Stock Exchange:
“Certainly, the inclusion in the Classification of Occupations in Romania, starting this year, of the positions dedicated to Investor Relations will contribute even more to the increase of the importance that the companies listed on the stock exchange have already begun to give to investor relations. At the same time, from now on, employees specialized in communicating with investors will have an official recognition of their job and listed companies will be able to increase their visibility through the recruitment process of these specialists. We are pleased that ARIR together with all those involved in the process have managed to materialize this initiative and we are convinced that it represents a step forward towards the modernization of the local capital market.”
Günay Duagi, Senior Managing Associate KPMG Legal – Toncescu si Asociații SPRL:
“We are glad that we were able to join ARIR in this timely initiative for the Romanian capital market. We believe that the inclusion in the Classification of Occupations in Romania of the positions of Specialist and Director for Investor Relations can contribute to increased performance in this field and indirectly to investors’ trust in the capital market. We have supported and will continue to support initiatives that can contribute to reaching the potential of the Romanian capital market.”
The topic was brought to public attention by ARIR and KPMG Legal in 2020, and after going through all the stages and presenting it to the institutional decision-makers, such as the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity, the Financial Supervisory Authority and the Labour Inspection, the introduction of the two codes was published in the Official Gazette in 2022. After publication, the codes could only be used in employment contracts, and with the launch of the new version of the General Register of Employees (Revisal) on April 10, they can also be used within the platform. The inclusion in the Classification of Occupations in Romania of the positions of Specialist and Director for Investor Relations opens the activity of managing the Investor Relationship towards a dedicated career, with its own path and milestones.
Context
Recent years have been marked by a significant increase in interest in new listings and stock market investments, with new records in both situations. The year 2021 represented a peak moment in terms of listings, the Bucharest Stock Exchange had 23 new companies with shares admitted to trading. Regarding the number of investors, the record year was 2022, when the number of 133 thousand was reached. Under these circumstances, members of the ARIR community have noticed a growing need for qualified personnel in the field of Investor Relations (IR) to create a bridge between the two ever-growing categories. In addition, in Romania, there are over 2,000 companies with more than 20 shareholders, according to an ARIR analysis, which may need a dedicated person to manage the relation with them and who can use the new positions.
A.S.F., in its capacity of competent authority in the field of capital market, contributes to the consolidation of an integrated framework for the functioning and supervision of markets, based on the competences conferred by GEO no. 93/2012. A.S.F. supports any measures aimed at strengthening the capital market, respectively to facilitate and promote the achievement of adequate information of investors, in the context of the fulfillment of transparency requirements by issuers listed on the capital market.
Thus, in the context of the promotion by the A.S.F. of a permanent dialogue with the main entities operating on the capital market, in order to identify the most important aspects faced by the market, respectively to promote the best solutions meant to support its consolidation, A.S.F. supported the initiative of introducing within the COR structure the occupations of Specialist for Investor Relations, respectively that of Director for Investor Relations, expressing its favorable position in this respect, in the context of discussions with ARIR.
Therefore, although the legislation specific to the Romanian capital market does not expressly refer to the role/position of Specialist for Investor Relations, respectively to that of Director for Investor Relations, A.S.F. considered that these two functions are important for an issuer admitted to trading to be able to effectively fulfill its legal obligations in regards of the preparation, transmission and publication of current and periodic reports, as well as the provision of conditions to allow the exercise of the rights of investors as shareholders in these companies.
In this context, in order to implement in practice the possibility of using the aforementioned codes, during 2022 A.S.F. also showed its openness to collaborate with relevant institutions involved in this process, by providing, according to the A.S.F.’s competences, any information on the capital market necessary to achieve this objective.
The Romanian Investor Relations Association – ARIR was founded at the initiative of Daniela Serban in November 2018 together with the founding members: Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), ALRO, Electromagnetica, Franklin Templeton Management – Bucharest, Hidroelectrica, Nuclearelectrica, Teraplast, Transelectrica and Tony Romani. The following companies have joined the community: Electrica, OMV Petrom, Antibiotice, Purcari, Idea Bank, BRK Financial Group, Banca Transilvania, Transgaz, MedLife, Romcarbon, Farmaceutica REMEDIA, Autonom, IMPACT Developer & Contractor, One United Properties, Transport Trade Services, Patria Bank, Connections Consult, BRD – Groupe Société Générale, Rompetrol and Agista as Associate Members. INNOVA Project Consulting, ENVISIA, RTPR, Mazars and Marsh Broker for Insurance – Reinsurance and Dentons became Affiliated Members.
ARIR members are among the largest companies in Romania, which share the objective of implementing best practices of transparency, investor communication and corporate governance.
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About the Romanian Investor Relations Association (ARIR):
ARIR is the promoter of the Investor Relations (IR) concept in Romania and we believe that by following standards of transparency, corporate governance and proactivity in communicating with investors, our members will benefit from added value, attract funding more easily, have the reputation and trust necessary for the continued development of their business. ARIR was founded in 2018 by listed companies, prospective listings, fund managers and IR professionals.