WFE participates in ‘IPOs for SMEs’ session at Milken Institute Global Conference

By: The WFE Focus Team May 2017

The WFE recently took part in the Milken Institute's 2017 Global Conference, participating in a panel on SME financing.

Over the last decade, policymakers and market players worldwide have explored new, nonbank finance sources for rapidly growing SMEs, including the creation of dedicated SME boards on local stock exchanges.

Siobhan Cleary, Head of Research & Public Policy, represented the WFE on the the panel, which was entitled 'IPOs for SMEs: Can Capital Markets Close the Financing Gap?'. The session reviewed the successes and pitfalls of looking to capital markets to finance SMEs. Panellists discussed the key lessons from recent efforts to expand SME access to capital through equity markets; how effective SME exchanges have been in attracting listings and expanding firms' access to capital; what attracts investors to SME listings; and what can exchanges do to promote greater investor participation.

Siobhan was joined on stage by panellists Ana Carvajal, Lead Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank Group; Ashish Chauhan, CEO, Bombay Stock Exchange; and Nick Thadaney, President and CEO, Global Equity Capital Markets, TMX Group, and the session was moderated by Staci Warden, Executive Director, Center for Financial Markets, Milken Institute.