Since 21 February (until 24 March) the NAV of all UCITS funds in Croatia has observed a significant decrease of HRK 7.8bn, representing a decrease of 32.5%.

Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA) published an updated net asset value (NAV) of all UCITS funds in Croatia ending with 24 March 2020. Since the asset managers play a very significant role in the Croatian capital market, it is particularly interesting to see how they have been affected during the ongoing Covid-19 situation.

The regulator notes that since 21 February (until 24 March) the NAV of all UCITS funds in Croatia has observed a significant decrease of HRK 7.8bn, representing a decrease of 32.5%. Of the HRK 7.8bn, HRK 6.7bn (86.1%) could be attributed to withdrawals from the funds, while the rest (HRK 1.1bn or 13.9%) can be attributed to a change in value of assets in which the funds invest. We will be publishing an update, as soon as HANFA publishes their UCITS funds assets structure for March 2020. To see the historical mutual fund asset structure (2007 – 2019) click here.

NAV of Croatian UCITS funds (HRK 000)

Source: Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency, InterCapital Research

Trading statistics for March 2020 show an average daily turnover of EUR 2.97m (+126% YoY). Meanwhile, SBI TOP ended the month with a 19.17% decrease.

The Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE) published their trading statistics for March 2020, showing a very high total equity turnover of EUR 65.4m. This translates to an average daily turnover of EUR 2.97m (+126% YoY). Such an extreme increase in turnover could be attributed to the selloff which started in late February and continued in March, causing stocks to plummet.

Of the total value traded in the period (excluding block transactions), Krka generated 37.5%, followed by Petrol with 14.5%. Next come Triglav with 13.2% and NLB with 11.7%. Sava Re follows with 9.1%. These 5 shares generated 86% of the turnover recorded by the entire (equity) market.

When observing the total equity market capitalization, it observed a 18.5% MoM decrease (or EUR 1.28bn) as a result of the selloff, and currently amounts to EUR 5.65bn. Krka’s share is the biggest constituent of the total exchange’s equity market capitalization, accounting for about 38.4% of the total value. Next, comes NLB with 13.6%. Further, Triglav holds 10.8% while Petrol accounts for 10.97 of the total market capitalization value.

The main index of the stock exchange, SBI TOP, recorded a sharp decrease of 19.17%, ending the month at 733.15 points. Note that this marks the highest monthly decrease since the introduction of the index.

Share Price Performance of SBI TOP Constituents in March

At the Interim review in March 2020, the global index provider FTSE Russell revealed certain clarifications regarding Romanian upgrade from Frontier to Secondary Emerging Market status.

Romanian inclusion in the FTSE Russell Emerging Market indices in September 2020 depend on index eligibility calculated with the data as of 30 June 2020. Romanian securities are going to be added to the FTSE Global Equity Index Series if at least two securities meet the FTSE Global All Cap Index eligibility requirements.

The FTSE Russell yearly review will examine the liquidity of the 8 observed Romanian companies that meet FTSE Russell size criteria for the July 2019 – June 2020 period. In order to pass the liquidity test, the company’s monthly median liquidity must be exceeding 0.05% for at least 10 out of 12 months. The monthly median liquidity requirement is calculated as the monthly median of firm’s daily traded volumes divided by the free-float number of firm’s shares.

However, considering Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) data, so far only two Romanian companies are on track to be included in the FTSE Emerging Market indices, namely Banca Transilvania (TLV) and S.N. Nuclearelectrica (SNN). For the inclusion in the index, Banca Transilvania needs to ensure median daily liquidity of at least 2,150,000 shares for two more months, while S.N. Nuclearelectrica needs to secure median daily liquidity of at least 27,000 shares for the remaining three months.

BVB is cooperating with the issuers, market participants and authorities to secure the inclusion in the FTSE Russell Emerging Market indices in September 2020 by enhancing the market liquidity.

In March, the Belgrade Stock Exchange observed an average daily turnover of EUR 0.25m. Meanwhile, BELEX15 recorded a decrease of 20.34%.

The Belgrade Stock Exchange reported a turnover of EUR 5.42m in March 2020 (when observing solely equity). This would translate to an average daily turnover of EUR 0.25m.

In March, the most traded share (excluding block transactions) was NIS with a turnover of EUR 1.28m. Next come Messer Tehnogas with EUR 0.62m and Komercijalna Banka with EUR 0.36m.

The current Covid-19 situation has affected the Serbian capital market as well, which can be seen when observing the BELEX 15 index constituents, as all ended the month in red. Aerodrom Nikola Tesla recorded the highest share price decrease of 28.5%, followed by Komercijalna Banka (-27.27%). Next come NIS (-23.08%) and Messer Tehnogas (-20.64%).

As a result of such high share price decreases, total market capitalization decreased by 11.6% and currently stands at EUR 4.22bn.

Turning our attention to BELEX15, the index observed a sharp drop of 20.34%, ending at 636.53 points.