It is not just about the valuation of companies, but about the market in general. In June, during the Forum 11 of issuers of the BMV Group, its general director, José-Oriol Bosch, stated that despite the fact that the main market index, the S&P/BMV IPC, scored an all-time high of 56,609.54 points in April, its valuation was below what was recorded in 2013 –in dollars, considering the depreciation that the currency has suffered–. “That has definitely been a brake on us having new placements,” he said.
One of the problems is the investor base. In two years, the volume of accounts in brokerage houses multiplied 10.3 times to 3.1 million; but the value is still small since 99% of the accounts are for less than 15 million pesos. “Three million is nothing, if we see it with developed markets, such as the United States, where more than 60% of the adult population invests directly in the stock market; in Mexico, it is only 3%-4% of the population, it is nothing,” said Oriol.
There is much to do, and it must be done by all market participants. Ariza points out that costs must be reduced for companies interested in listing, expanding the options for participation by institutional investors, including new types of investors, incorporating a tax benefit and improving the areas of opportunity that exist in regulatory matters to make it more accessible. the market to small and medium enterprises. Jesús de la Fuente Rodríguez, president of the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), agrees:
“We need to be more flexible in some aspects of the regulatory framework, more flexible, and let’s not take so long to give authorizations for the placement of securities.” For August, the authorities are preparing a legislative “package of changes” that would help unblock pending issues, according to Alfredo Navarrete, head of the Banking, Securities and Savings Unit of the Ministry of Finance. The goal is for this agenda to be discussed in Congress starting in September.