STA, 10 December 2019 - Shares listed on the Ljubljana and Zagreb stock exchanges were described as excellent investment opportunities as the two stock markets held a joint investment conference in Ljubljana on Tuesday.
The shares comprising the benchmark SBI TOP index are undervalued, considering comparable indices in the region, Mark Štemberger of the brokerage Ilirika told the event in presenting the latest trends in Slovenia.
Slovenia's economy is projected to expand for the seventh consecutive year in 2020. Although growth is slowing down and despite dampened business confidence, Ilirika expects positive labour market trends to continue.
The listed companies have been doing well this year and mostly above projections. Pharma company Krka and chemical company Cinkarna Celje attained the planned annual profitability levels by the end of September, Štemberger reported.
He said that the dividend yield of the companies listed in SBI TOP over the past 10 years was almost double that of the companies in the benchmark index of the Zagreb Stock Exchange, and substantially above those on other stock markets in Central Europe.
Ilirika would advise buying virtually all shares in the index, especially given the low-interest environment and the high indebtedness and high dividend yield of Slovenian public companies.
Similarly, Matko Maravić from the Zagreb brokerage Intercapital Securities argued in favour of investing in shares. He too described Croatian stocks as undervalued.
The joint investment conference featured 15 major public companies from both countries as well as 25 investment companies and banks and 34 analysts and investors from Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey, Estonia, Malta and Sweden.
The joint event is being held in Ljubljana for the first time, being usually held in Zagreb in spring. The Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE) is part of the Zagreb Stock Exchange Group.
The CEO of the LJSE manager, Aleš Ipavec said the exchange was trying to diversify its client base and expand on the range of investors.
After NLB bank shares were listed on the LJSE prime market in November last year, Ipavec indicated the possibility of new listings on the standard market.
The LJSE also presented awards for best member, which went to Intercapital Securities, while Krka took the awards for best prime market share and for best investor relations.
