Zagreb - Amendments to the Capital Market Act will make information on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accessible to a broad range of investors via the European Single Access Point (ESAP), both in the EU and globally, State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Davor Zoričić told Parliament on Wednesday.
"SMEs stand to benefit from capital market development, which would allow them to seek financing not only from credit institutions but also on the capital market in general. If they submit data via the European Single Access Point, information about them will be visible to the widest possible range of investors, both in the EU and worldwide," Zoričić said during a parliamentary debate on the bill, which aims to improve access to information for investors.
He was responding to MP Danica Baričević (ruling Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ), who had asked how SMEs would benefit from the proposed legislative changes.
Zoričić explained that the amendments transpose into Croatian legislation the provisions of the EU directive establishing ESAP, whose purpose is to facilitate access to publicly available information relevant to financial services, capital markets and sustainability, in order to support decision-making by a large number of investors, particularly retail investors.
ESAP to facilitate access to publicly available investment information
"Currently, information is scattered across many portals and other sources, which makes searching difficult and raises costs for investors. ESAP will provide a standardised system for collecting, searching and using financial and non-financial data, including sustainability-related data," Zoričić said.
This approach, he noted, will enhance the visibility of EU capital companies and their products, making them more competitive in the global investment community.
HANFA to manage data submission to ESAP in Croatia
In Croatia, the Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA) will be the competent authority for collecting and submitting the required data to the ESAP platform.
The proposed legislative changes received support from both the ruling majority and the opposition.
Boris Lalovac (Social Democratic Party, SDP) pointed out that a report by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on the future of European competitiveness shows that Europe is dramatically lagging behind the United States in productivity. While Europeans save more than Americans, the latter are wealthier because returns on their assets are significantly higher, thanks to their highly developed capital markets.
He added that Croatia lacks a developed capital market, as most citizens save either in banks or through property investments - both of which have proved relatively unproductive even at the EU level.
Lalovac argued that the fight for higher wages must be driven by productivity gains, which will not be possible if Europe remains overregulated and its capital market fragmented.
He said the SDP supports a single European capital market, which is currently fragmented, and also backs government efforts to help Croatian companies access EU capital markets.
Support also came from Marijana Puljak (Centre), who said that in addition to the lack of capital, SMEs face the problem of being "invisible" to investors. She noted that most Croatian SMEs are used to bank financing and unfamiliar with capital markets. "They need to be encouraged to see this as a new financing opportunity - and educated accordingly," she said.