NYSE Euronext Lisbon and NERLEI Join Forces to Bring SMEs to Alternext

Financing Via the Capital Markets an Alternative

Lisbon - – NYSE Euronext Lisbon, the Portuguese Stock Exchange, has recently signed a protocol of cooperation and partnership with NERLEI-Associação Empresarial da Região de Leiria (Entrepreneurial Association of the Leiria Region) aiming to draw new companies to the Exchange, namely to the Alternext market dedicated to small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs).

This protocol will enable NYSE Euronext Lisbon to identify the NERLEI members interested in the capital markets, while the Association will present the Exchange as an alternative financing source.

Joining the Alternext market may be a simplified way for the Portuguese SMEs to enter the capital markets in order to obtain financing, diversify their shareholder structure or issue debt securities.

Set up in May 2005, Alternext combines admission requirements that meet the needs of SMEs, and provides the investor with high standards of transparency and protection.

“The Portuguese Exchange firmly believes that Portugal and its corporations must consider all the means available to overcome today’s enormous challenges. In this context, the capital markets, and particularly the stock market, given its structural relevance, continues to offer the solutions that companies are lacking”, said Luís Laginha de Sousa, CEO of NYSE Euronext Lisbon.

“This protocol provides the formal support for the cooperation between the Exchange and business entities. Given the nature and capacity of its activity, the Exchange is an important contributor to the collective effort companies, SMEs in particular, are making not to limit their ambitions for growth and development but consider other ways to find the solutions they need, such as the capital markets”, he added.

“Capitalization and access to financing are without doubt the biggest constraints SMEs are confronted with”, admits Jorge Santos, President of NERLEI. “We, the business associations, must help companies find financing sources other than bank credit. The protocol we are signing today aims to present our members with new and good alternatives”, he stated.

About NERLEI
Founded in 1985, NERLEI – Associação Empresarial da Região de Leiria (The Entrepreneurial Association of the Leiria Region) aims to promote the development of economic activities in the region and ensure that its members are actively involved in all the decisions and programs. With membership now totalling 700, NERLEI is continuously growing. In addition to businesses from all the various sectors, the Association also counts secondary and higher education establishments among its members, as well as several associations from the moulding, plastics and construction industries. Basing its activities on transparency, soundness and rigour, NERLEI aims to be known in the region as well as nationwide. It has been recognised for its commitment to regional identity, and as a result NERLEI has been a member of the Board of AIP – Associação Industrial Portuguesa (The Portuguese Industrial Association) and of CIP – Confederação da Indústria Portuguesa (The Confederation of Portuguese Industry). NERLEI is a partner of several projects with other regional and national entities, for example “Leiria Região de Excelência”, “D. Dinis Business School”; “Observatório Regional”; “Portal Económico Where To Invest in Pinhal Litoral”; “Incubadora D. Dinis”, among others. For more information, please visit: www.nerlei.pt

About NYSE Euronext
NYSE Euronext (NYX) is a leading global operator of financial markets and provider of innovative trading technologies. The company’s exchanges in Europe and the United States trade equities, futures, options, fixed-income and exchange-traded products. With approximately 8,000 listed issues (excluding European Structured Products), NYSE Euronext’s equities markets - the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext, NYSE MKT, NYSE Alternext and NYSE Arca - represent one-third of the world’s equities trading, the most liquidity of any global exchange group. NYSE Euronext also operates NYSE Liffe, one of the leading European derivatives businesses and the world’s second-largest derivatives business by value of trading. The company offers comprehensive commercial technology, connectivity and market data products and services through NYSE Technologies. NYSE Euronext is in the S&P 500 index. For more information, please visit: http://www.nyx.com.

Disclaimer
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