5.10.2017
A celebration to mark the 10th anniversary of initial public offering of HT shares was held today at the Zagreb Stock Exchange. At that time, it was the biggest initial public offering in the region, and over 356,000 members of the general public participated in it. It was a landmark event for the acceptance of the culture of stock ownership, whereas following the initial public offering of HT, a large number of Croatian citizens gained a deeper insight into the basics of functioning of the capital market.
Ivana Gažić, President of the Management Board of the Zagreb Stock Exchange, and Davor Tomašković, President of the Management Board of Hrvatski Telekom
"The mobilisation of citizens and their capital concerning the initial public offering of HT shares has had a substantial educational impact. Whilst in advanced countries this type of investment is a standard, in our transitional economy it was practically still at its inception. Subsequently, the Zagreb Stock Exchange was identified on the global investment map, as well as the entire domestic and regional market. Hence, this significant project certainly exerted a positive impact, both on other listed companies and on the entire market", noted Ivana Gažić, President of the Management Board of the Zagreb Stock Exchange.
HT shares have been listed on the Zagreb Stock Exchange since 5 October 2007, and they have had a very important role on the Croatian capital market. HT shares have had the highest level of liquidity on the Zagreb Stock Exchange over an entire decade, and they are simultaneously amongst the shares with the highest market capitalisation. Moreover, they have been included in several market indices of the Zagreb Stock Exchange since the start.
Hrvatski Telekom is the winner of a large number of awards and acknowledgements in the field of investor relations, whereas HT share has regularly been awarded in a wide range of categories. Continuous transformation is a prerequisite for such achievements. It is implemented primarily in order to achieve excellent results. During the last three years, a large number of projects has been successfully implemented, which were primarily intended to increase the cost effectiveness, strengthen the market position, and prepare for growth.
"We are the largest private investor in Croatia. In addition, we significantly participate in economic development, and we account for 3% of the Croatian GDP. Hrvatski Telekom is currently the technological leader and a primarily growth-oriented company, both on the domestic and on the regional market, where we have already started expansion through the acquisition of Crnogorski Telekom. We have ensured the leading position on the market through compliance with corporate social responsibility principles, and we are continuously focused on increasing shareholder value", pointed out Davor Tomašković, President of the Management Board of Hrvatski Telekom.
During the last decade, HT has significantly affected the quality of corporate governance, as well as of the other listed companies, providing a role model of transparency and best practices. This has been confirmed by the fact that HT has been one of the winners of the award given by Poslovni dnevnik and the Zagreb Stock Exchange for best investor relations for six consecutive years.
Consequently, it has been confirmed that the decision about the listing on the Zagreb Stock Exchange reached a decade ago was more than right and that it exerted a crucial impact on the shaping of the domestic capital market, the expansion of the investor base, and eventually positively affected the shaping of HT into the company as we know it.