The National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine (NSSMC) is working to increase the number of attractive instruments in the market beyond domestic government bonds (OVGS). The goal is to assist in organizing at least five primary or secondary public offerings (IPOs or SPOs) in the next two years, stated NSSMC Chairman Ruslan Magomedov.
"Now we need something to emerge besides OVGS. Personally, I set myself a KPI to ensure that by the end of my term (February 23, 2027 - IF-U), we have at least five issuers known nationwide, or even beyond. Most likely, this may not even be IPOs, but SPOs," - he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
In the commission chairman's opinion, a potential candidate for this could be the state-owned "Ukrposhta," with whom discussions about this have been ongoing with CEO Igor Smilyansky even before the war.
"I believe that this SPO has great chances because there is definitely an appetite for investment among people. We also have a third level of pension provision, and funds need to invest somewhere besides OVGS and bank deposits. 'Ukrposhta' is a familiar service; Igor's idea is not just to compete with 'Nova Poshta' but to create a Ukrainian Amazon: there will be a payment part, a delivery service, and modernized IT - meaning there will be a clear business model to invest in," - noted Magomedov.
In his view, state banks and possibly even "Ukrzaliznytsia" could also be considered for IPOs or SPOs.
"No one is saying that the state should give everything away; no, we are talking about a minority stake. This actually adds a so-called reliability factor, as the state is in charge and won't leave it to chance. I am confident that if Smilyansky carries out his SPO - it will be bought; there simply won't be any other options. Then someone else from the corporate sector will rush in and want to issue as well. That’s how it works," - explained the NSSMC chairman.
He emphasized the importance of having stocks on the market that are genuinely issued to attract capital, as previously stocks were issued during privatization, and in most cases, company management was not interested in maintaining their image in the eyes of investors.
Magomedov added that concurrently, the regulator will enhance control measures to protect investors.
"For this, we have started fundamentally changing the Commission itself; we will revise reporting requirements. On one hand, we will simplify it, while on the other, we want to shift to a so-called risk-oriented approach. I hope that by the end of the year, there will be results when the media, our professional participants, and end consumers will notice the changes that have occurred. The mechanisms for submitting reports and the requirements for prudential standards and information provision will change," - reported the NSSMC chairman.
"In other words, we will make everything simpler and clearer, but the control will be more precise and strict," - concluded Magomedov.