Baltic Fms Call On EBRD To Support Regional Capital Market

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 30. The finance ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have signed a joint letter to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), calling for renewed cooperation to advance the development of a unified Baltic capital market, Trend reports.

Lithuanian Finance Minister Rimantas Šadžius, Latvian Finance Minister Arvils Ašeradens, and Estonian Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi signed the joint appeal in Vilnius, expressing their intention to renew the trilateral memorandum originally signed in 2017. The ministers drove home the point that breathing new life into the agreement would not only strengthen regional ties but also give the Baltic region a leg up in the competitive race.

A stronger regional capital market, they noted, would contribute directly to the European Commission's Capital Markets Union initiative, launched in March this year to encourage European citizens to channel savings into productive investments. The bigger picture is to open the floodgates for investment opportunities, level the playing field for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and knock down the walls that stand in the way of cross-border trade.

“We need to keep up the pace and continue increasing the visibility and competitiveness of the Baltic region. We greatly value the EBRD as a strong partner in developing the Baltic capital market,” Minister Šadžius highlighted.

The joint letter outlines potential areas of action, with a focus on market infrastructure, legal convergence, and investor participation.

Key priorities include:

Encouraging companies-including unicorns and SMEs-to raise capital via regional trading venues through both primary and dual listings;

Improving interoperability with other securities depositories;

Boosting institutional investor involvement and diversifying available financial instruments;

Enhancing investor education and trust, potentially through the creation of trustee institutions to protect bondholder rights and increase market transparency.

The ministers also proposed identifying legal differences that hinder cross-border investments and emphasized the need to align regulations to ensure a seamless capital market environment.

The updated memorandum is expected to be signed during the EBRD Annual Meeting, scheduled to take place in Riga from June 5 to 7, 2026. This would serve as a clear signal of Baltic unity to the international financial community and potential investors, reinforcing the region's collective strength and investment potential.

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