MICEX will help innovative companies grow

A new way to "reach out" to the investorDenis Zhuikov, STRF.ru
In the conditions of the financial crisis, holding full-fledged initial public offerings (IPOs) is unlikely, and therefore the transformation of the sector of innovative and growing companies (IRC) looks quite appropriate and timely.

The new MICEX sector is designed to bring to the market, first of all, young high-tech companies that can play a decisive role in the transition of the country's economy to an innovative path of development. At the same time, access to new companies for speculative capital will be limited – the management of the sector relies on serious private investors, hedge funds and private equity funds. Gennady Margolit, Vice President of MICEX CJSC, spoke about the future of the Innovation and Investment Market sector.

At the Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, a decision was announced on the actual restructuring of the IRC sector with the addition of two new segments. What are the main reasons for this restructuring? It turns out that the existing site was not enough?– There are actually several reasons.

The first is the internal logic of development. We created the IRC sector, gained experience in its functioning, and then realized that it makes sense to develop further. Secondly, there was a desire to expand the scale of what was happening and aim for more global goals. If the IRC sector served us quite specific things related to bringing the company to the market, then the idea of the "Innovation and Investment Market" shows a desire to create a kind of favorable environment in Russia as a whole to attract investment in innovative fast-growing companies. The third reason is the changed reality, the so–called financial crisis, to which we also cannot but react. In particular, it is difficult to count on the flow of full-fledged IPOs in the existing conditions. So we decided to create a platform for private placements, which is more focused on qualified investors than those who participate in a wide IPO.

Which companies will they be mainly: from the information technology industry?– The most important thing for us is to help solve such a global strategic problem as the creation of a new economy.

We need to move from a predominantly resource-based economy to an economy that relies on intelligence, to a high level of added value. The tasks of this platform are quite large–scale, including the creation of the most favorable environment for the company to enter the market, for the introduction of innovations, etc. The main focus is on innovative companies. But we define them quite broadly: not necessarily by the criterion of the industry, but also by the technologies used. High-tech companies, as well as those using bio- and nanotechnology, are prioritized. But companies in traditional sectors that rely on or are at the stage of introducing some advanced technologies also fall into the sphere of interests of this platform.

How will the launch of a new sector company on the market differ from the launch of a company on other platforms? Maybe a simplified procedure?– The most important thing is that we will take into account the specifics of the companies:

these are high-tech, younger, smaller than those that go to the main site.

In general, such platforms rely on the same ideology, expressed in a kind of dualism. On the one hand, the conditions for market access are simplified, on the other – there are additional restrictions. On the one hand, there are no excessive requirements that are put forward for companies in the main sector; on the other hand, there are requirements for disclosure of information, additional standards, the presence of additional intermediaries in the person of listing agents. All this is done in order to protect the investor from additional risks of investing in such companies. But these protective measures are not only an additional barrier, they also give a huge advantage: it is much easier for a company that goes through all this to find an investor. Moreover, these barriers are not akin to bureaucratic, unnecessary – these are exactly the levers and mechanisms that allow the company to really "reach out" to its investor. Even if there was no such platform, the company would still have to do something similar, only without a clear and distinct procedure, without the standard mechanisms that we offer.

How would you estimate the capitalization of the sector, say, by the end of the year?– It is absolutely impossible to predict this.

Now we have four companies in the IRC sector. On the one hand, it seems that it is not enough. But, firstly, we launched the sector itself only in the summer of 2007. For comparison, on the same AIM, the most famous analogue at the London Stock Exchange, only two companies from Russia for the same period. Of course, the initial, "pilot" period is the most difficult and difficult. If it weren't for the crisis, I think we would have moved to a more flow-based method of withdrawing companies.

Do I understand correctly that due to the crisis, no new IPOs are planned until the end of the year?– I will not say categorically.

Here, after all, it is necessary to make a reservation: by IPO, I mean public offering, placement in a wide range. Yes, the window is still closed. Will it open by the end of the year? I'm not sure. But private placement, private placement, of course, will be. We are working on this, so the task of attracting investments in companies will be solved.. There is such a term "quasi IPO" – you can use it.

You said that there are four companies in your sector. Was their number originally the same?– Four companies in the sector are companies that actually went out and made the placement.

The first two companies were placed before the crisis. These were full-fledged IPOs: the Finam IT company and the Armada company (RBC's "daughter"). Moreover, the placements were directly carried out through the exchange. Not everyone distinguishes this, because the standard scheme is an over–the-counter IPO, when an investment bank does everything (collects applications and so on). In this case, the exchange IPO scheme was used when applications were collected through our exchange system. As for the O ₂ TV channel and the NECC company, here, rather, private placement is placement by a narrow circle of investors.

Can you clarify the essence of cooperation with Rusnano?– Rusnano is an important partner for us, because we have common goals,.

The task of introducing and developing innovations is a key element of the breakthrough to the new economy. This is the status task of Rusnano. And our platform is aimed at solving it. We have a fairly serious infrastructure for working with companies – for their selection, maintenance and training. Rusnano also has a powerful infrastructure for working with companies, including in the regions. Therefore, the combination of these two infrastructures gives a powerful synergistic effect: by combining, we reach a higher and higher quality level in terms of working with companies. Plus, Rusnano is a very serious expertise, because it is very difficult to work with innovative companies due to the specifics, which, of course, we do not know and do not understand. Rusnano has such expertise.

The general question is "about the crisis"...– Oh, it's not for me!

I don't like general questions, forecasts...

It is clear that no one knows when it will end. But when do you expect the situation in the IRC sector to change?– As for our sector, in a sense, the crisis is in our favor.

After all, we are building a long-term project, so now is a convenient time to create a system that will really work to its fullest when the exit from the crisis begins. It's very good when they don't push you under the elbow: "Hurry up, come on!". Although there is a need to attract investment, of course. Nevertheless, there is no strong hype. Secondly, now, oddly enough, the situation has changed for the better with the willingness of issuers to disclose information about themselves, the willingness to let in equity, and not to keep everything in one hand to the last.

The "cold shower" made a sobering impression, inflated expectations and estimates simply interfered with normal work. Now not every company is worth a billion dollars, as our entrepreneurs thought before the crisis. We can say that the moment of truth has come. It is also positive that professional teams and intermediaries have appeared who are able to work professionally with relatively small companies, which was not the case before the crisis. There were large investment banks that were simply not interested in working with "small things".

And what kind of intermediaries are they?– There is such a term "investbook".

In the old days, there were IB teams that worked under the brand of a large investment bank. Now, since there is nothing much to do there, it is an independent company that has its own customer base and works with it. A small "group" of 15-20 people, which really helps companies prepare for entering the public market.

Who is now ready to buy shares of companies (even those four) that are already present in the sector? Holding new IPOs, even quasi-ones, does not seem too logical in a crisis...– These four companies, oddly enough, have a pretty decent turnover, they are trading well.

Yes, this is secondary trading, and then the shares begin to be transferred from hand to hand, this is not an investment in the company's capital. But the secondary turnover is very important for the company itself, because it facilitates the possibility of further attracting investments. Because if there is a liquid market, it means that it increases capitalization. Liquidity has a price, which means that the company can attract loans through debt financing simply at different rates, much lower. The company, if desired, can conduct an additional issue and it is much easier to accommodate.

Now more specifically about who the buyer is. It is not worth counting on the fact that traditional buyers – the same retail, the same speculators – will enter such companies. This is unlikely. Why would a speculator enter such a company without understanding anything about it, without knowing, spend his time and effort on studying it, when he, without risking, can buy the same Gazprom or Sberbank? For an ordinary retail investor, who is faced with the task of minimizing their own risks, a young, growing company that is not very clear is also not interesting. We will simply put up a barrier: we will not let retail into The private placement sector. Moreover, only those modes that are inconvenient for speculators will be available there – and this is done deliberately. There will be a mode of negotiated transactions, which is convenient for trading large packages.

The main buyers, we think, will be institutional investors, hedge funds, private funds, possibly mutual funds (but with certain reservations). There are such investors, the situation is more or less optimistic. The next category is quite interesting and little studied – these are private individuals. But not standard "physicists", but wealthy people who have from a million dollars of "free money". This category is now under our sights, we are trying to analyze it. These people have a desire to enter into such companies, because they are no longer interested in large public assets. They've either had enough of it, or they just want to become co-owners of businesses. The motivation here is completely different.

Our government, which has announced a course to build an innovative economy, in theory, should also somehow contribute to the development of such market sectors...– If we talk about the sector, then this is one of the tasks that is being set within the framework of the segment being created.

The coordination council of the innovation and investment market will be created now. One step has already been taken, namely, the regulation on the coordinating council has been approved. The chairman, Anatoly Borisovich Chubais, was also approved. In accordance with the regulations, seven seats will be occupied by representatives of government departments and agencies. One of the tasks of this council is to bring to the state proposals to stimulate innovative companies in terms of attracting investment. This is a kind of coordination between the market and the state, providing feedback to the state. We are currently working on preparing proposals in this area.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru10.07.2009