Roundup: Milan stock exchange considers listing Chinese fashion companies target
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E-mail Xinhua, November 22, 2013
Italy's stock exchange is looking at Chinese fashion firms as possible listed companies, the CEO of Borsa Italiana (Milan Stock Exchange) Raffaele Jerusalmi said here on Thursday.
Though currently Chinese investors are not representative in Borsa Italiana, as they prefer direct investment, China has companies with "very high potential" in the luxury sector which especially characterizes Milan, Jerusalmi told Xinhua.
The CEO made the remarks in a meeting at the Milan Foreign Press Association. An impressive history, good growth prospects and competitor awareness are all what innovative Chinese companies need to list their shares in Milan, he said.
"There is growing creativity in China, and there could be several Chinese companies that may consider listing here," he added. He called China a "target" of the Italian stock exchange, which is seeking to expand in developing countries with an interest for the fashion market.
To help companies achieve their growth targets, Borsa Italiana has created Elite, a platform of integrated services to enhance industrial, financial and organizational skills they need to address the challenges of international markets and eventually list their shares.
Elite presently counts 131 companies with a turnover from 10 to 900 million euros (from 13 million to 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) but is expected to also include larger firms in the coming years. Beside fashion brands there are also a number of strong niche enterprises in all sectors.
Jerusalmi stressed that Borsa Italiana especially aims at becoming a "fashion hub" where international listed companies including big as well as small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can find themselves in the heart of luxury.
But why should a foreign brand decide to list in Milan? The CEO explained that though Milan shares its leadership with Paris and New York, it has the largest presence and variety of fashion companies, including renowned firms and SMEs that are a fundamental part of the supply chain.
In addition, Borsa Italiana is Europe's best when it comes to efficiency as it maintains its leadership in lowest transactions costs and highest turnover velocity (which means high liquidity).
"Over the last four years Milan had around half of overall market capitalization (the total value of the issued shares of a publicly traded company) of all fashion listed companies in the world," Jerusalmi noted. He was confident that Milan will become one of the top global cities within 10 years.
Presently, around 97 percent of Borsa Italiana's institutional investors are foreigners, compared with 60-70 percent in other European capitals, which makes Milan "the most international stock exchange at the European level," he said.
He also added that Borsa Italiana, which has 320 listed companies, presently relies on around 1,200 investment companies from 40 countries, mainly from the U.S. or based in Britain, while many others are from Canada and Japan. Endi
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