The shares of the Zurich-based company Xlife Sciences had previously been traded over the counter on the Munich Stock Exchange. Why the switch to SIX Swiss Exchange now? “We noticed,” says Oliver Baumann, “that demand from institutional co-investors has grown disproportionately. We wanted to further improve our transparency and visibility, and a regulated market segment is of course very, very important for us.”
Sparks gives small and medium-sized companies the opportunity to list on SIX Swiss Exchange under simplified, SME-specific requirements. This facilitates their access to the public capital markets to finance their next growth steps. Sparks is intended for companies with a market capitalization of less than CHF 500 million.
Gaining the Trust of Investors
Although the stock markets are currently facing a rather rough wind due to the current turbulence, Baumann would dare to go public again. When asked by moderator Martin Spieler why an SME should go public on the Swiss stock exchange at all, Baumann mentions regulatory reporting obligations in addition to increasing transparency and visibility.
The strong commitment to high transparency and control standards that comes with listing on a regulated and respected trading venue like SIX Swiss Exchange is crucial to gaining the trust of co-investors, he says. This is especially true for institutional investors with a long-term focus. Add to that, Baumann says, the listing increases the liquidity and tradability of the shares. This gives investors access to new and promising companies, which can be extremely interesting, especially in a time when returns are generally low.