Officials of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) informed that on October 5th, 2016, the Board of Governors approved the updated management rules for BVB indices, after a similar decision was taken by the BVB Index Committee.

A new set of rules were introduced for BET and BET-TR, so that the two indices reflect the performance of the most traded companies listed at BVB which meet the highest standards in the area of investor relations and corporate governance, according to a press release.

BET and BET-TR indices will thus have a variable number of constituents, as opposed to the currently fixed structure. The minimum number of companies will be 10 and the maximum 15.

In addition to that, a Watchlist (list of eligible companies) will be introduced for companies to be monitored before their inclusion in BET and BET-TR indices. The list will be decided at the periodic meetings taking place in March and September of each year. The companies will have to remain on the list for at least 6 months prior to the final decision regarding an inclusion in the index. The first Watchlist will be communicated to the market shortly and will remain in force until the Index Committee meeting in March 2017.

The criteria for inclusion in the two indices are maintained. BET and BET-TR will include the most traded companies which fulfill the reporting and investor relations (IR) requirements, criteria which has been in force since January 2015.

The specific reporting and IR criteria include the reporting according to IFRS standards, according to the legal framework in force, simultaneous reporting in English and Romanian language, for current and periodic reports, submitted to the Bucharest Stock Exchange and at least one quarterly event dedicated to investors and analysts (conference calls or analyst and investor meetings), following the release of the financial results, organized within a reasonable timeframe.

The composition and number of companies in the indices can be changed twice a year (during March and September meetings), but also in case of special situations, such as listings of new companies.

Moreover, companies’ compliance with the BVB’s Corporate Governance Code will be taken into consideration as an additional consideration related to the companies’ inclusion in the indices.