Malta Stock Exchange Chairman Joseph Portelli celebrates 100th corporate listing

The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) marked its 100th corporate listing since starting operations in 1992 with the admission of a €3,000,000 bond issue by Class Finance plc to the Prospects MTF market.

Trading in the Class Finance plc bonds commenced on 16 February 2022, and the event was marked by the traditional bell ringing event at the Exchange’s premises in Valletta on 16 March 2022.

“Over the past 30 years, the MSE has managed to develop a robust capital market,” MSE Chairman Joseph Portelli said, welcoming the Board of Directors and CEO of Class Finance.

“Together with my team, we are proud that the Exchange has become the fundraising avenue of choice for companies and that we provide an alternative to bank financing for the local entrepreneurs,” he continued.

Class Finance plc is the financing arm of Class Optical, an organisation which operates in the provision of a full spectrum of optical products and services to the optical retail sector.

Mr Portelli went on to thank the MSE team and the service providers involved in the process of every issue. He noted that these stakeholders make it possible for Maltese companies to raise the necessary finance through capital market issues.

In his address, Class Finance Chairman John C. Grech observed that the reason that the MSE has managed to help the growth of local companies over the past 30 years is because it has always been a member of the community and sensitive to the business needs of the local companies.

Co-incidentally, Mr Grech said that Class Optical Group started growing around 30 years ago when Mr Cyril Gabarretta and Mr Robert Tua started opening the first chain of optical stores. Since then, he added, the group continued to grow and has now also expanded with operations in Morocco and Libya, underpinning the group’s international growth.

Mr Grech concluded by thanking the MSE team and Calamatta Cuschieri, who were the corporate advisors for the issue, for their professional service and for making this issue a success.

Mr Cyril Gabaretta and Mr Robert Tua, the original founders of the company, rang the bell at the MSE building.