The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”) and the Macedonian Stock Exchange AD Skopje (“MSE”) have agreed to cooperate in boosting the local capital market.
A memorandum of understanding, signed today by the Chief Executive Officer of the Macedonian Stock Exchange AD Skopje, Ivan Shteriev and Fatih Turkmenoglu, EBRD Country Head for North Macedonia, will create a strong foundation for collaboration between the Parties to enhance the local capital market. By raising awareness of equity and corporate bond listings, it aims to attract more private companies to go public and issue bonds. Ultimately, this initiative will drive market growth, increase investment opportunities, and support a more dynamic financial ecosystem. 

Fatih Turkmenoglu, said: “This signing today marks an important step toward strengthening the local capital markets in the country. By increasing awareness of equity and corporate bond listings, we are creating new opportunities for private companies to access financing, grow, and contribute to economic development. A deeper, more dynamic capital market benefits not only businesses but also investors and the broader economy, and we are committed to supporting this transformation.”

Ivan Shtereiv, said: Stock exchanges and capital markets achieve their full potential only if the corporate sector can finance its development through them. The Macedonian Stock Exchange continuously promotes and popularizes market financing of companies in our country. Due to a number of objective and subjective reasons, the domestic market has been waiting for a real IPO and new stock exchange listings for a long time. With the EBRD, as our biggest long-standing supporter, we share the same vision that things in this regard need to change, and by signing this Memorandum, we are creating a strategic framework for future concrete support for Macedonian companies that plan to finance their development through the capital market. “

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will aim to support the MSE in widening the issuer base and attracting new equity and bond issuers to the market by: 
•    Knowledge sharing with the MSE on the international best practises on expanding the pipeline of issuers;
•    Increasing the corporate financial culture in the country via capacity building exercises organised for the local companies in cooperation with the MSE;
•    Investigating the provision of targeted advisory services to the local companies that are considering an equity or bond issuance to increase their readiness for the public listing.

The EBRD has invested more than €2,9 billion in 197 projects in Northern Macedonia since it began operating in the country.