The ratio between the market capitalization of companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and Romania’s GDP was 20.7% as of December 31, 2024, below the levels recorded in other regional markets, such as Greece (43.7%), Croatia (33.8%), and Hungary (21%).
The figure can be disappointing as Romania’s BVB has significantly more listed companies (346) than the mentioned countries – Greece (137), Croatia (87), and Hungary (67), according to the 2025 edition of the study Bucharest Stock Exchange and M&A valuation multiples conducted by PwC Romania.
“With a significantly higher number of listed companies and an average market capitalisation of EUR 175 million, companies listed on BSE seem to be smaller as compared to those listed on other regional exchanges, except Bulgaria, Slovakia and Cyprus,” the report notes.
The PwC analysis is based on the activity of 85 companies listed on the regulated market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange and 49 companies listed on the AeRO Premium category, and takes into account significant macroeconomic events that influenced the market’s evolution during 2007–2024 and in the first half of 2025.
Market capitalization increased by approximately 18% in 2024 compared to 2023, reaching EUR 73 billion (the equivalent of RON 364 billion) as a result of the listing of Premier Energy in May 2024 and the transfer of two companies, Simtel Team and Roca Industry, from the MTS market to the main segment.
At the same time, the BET reference index rose by 9% in 2024 and by 4% in Q1/2025, subsequently continuing its advance. BET-TR increased by 16% in 2024 and by 4% in Q1/2025. Along with capitalization, the number of investors increased last year from 178,000 to 226,000.
As a recognition of this growth, in June 2025, the global index provider MSCI upgraded Romania’s capital market to the status of advanced frontier market, making it part of a group of five markets in this category, alongside Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.
While the Bucharest Stock Exchange accounts for less of GDP compared to the exchanges in Greece, Croatia, and Hungary, even less represented in the economy are the exchanges in the Czech Republic (19.6%), Slovenia (17.8%), Cyprus (16.9%), Bulgaria (8.5%), and Slovakia (1.7%).
(Photo source: Bursa de Valori Bucuresti on Facebook)
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