STATEMENT FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
2-22
Dear colleagues,
In 2022, Moscow Exchange continued to contribute to the development of the Russian financial sector. Our efforts to support investment activity and expand the range of services and exchange-traded instruments available to investors make a significant contribution to the sustainability of the Russian economy.
One of Moscow Exchange’s key performance indicators is the great trust from market participants. Therefore, in 2022, Moscow Exchange focused on maintaining business continuity: at the end of 2022, the IT system availability rate was 99.99%.
Despite the practical absence of foreign investors in 2022, the demand for securities related to environmental and social projects persisted. This can be seen in the Sustainability Sector, where bonds of more than RUB 100 billion volume were placed in 2022, with a total of RUB 276 billion of securities traded in the sector at the end of the year.
In times of uncertainty, it is particularly important to support and promote investment to SMEs and innovative companies. We therefore continued to develop the Growth Sector and the Innovation and Investment Market (IIM) during the reporting period. At the end of 2022, 49 bond issues of 33 small and medium-sized companies were traded in the Growth Sector. The total volume of securities placed was RUB 5.6 billion. In 2022, 25 SME issuers received subsidies to cover part of their expenses related to bond issue process and coupon payment totalling over RUB 420 million. The total trading volume of securities in the Innovation and Investment Market was over RUB 225 billion.
As part of the fight against global climate change, the Group continued to implement measures to develop the Russian carbon units market. In September 2022, the first on-exchange trades in carbon units were made at auctions run by the National Mercantile Exchange. Among other activities within Moscow Exchange’s climate agenda is switching offices and data centres (DCs) to green contracts. By the end of 2022, over 72% of the Group’s electricity consumption was covered by renewable energy sources (RES).
With the continued influx of individual investors into the Moscow Exchange markets, educational initiatives and training events take on particular social significance. In the reporting period, more than 250 financial literacy events were held, reaching around 500,000 people.
A Memorandum of Social Responsibility was drafted in 2022 and approved in early 2023, declaring respect for human rights, gender equality and socio-cultural diversity.
I thank our employees, partners and representatives of all stakeholders for their contribution in the development of Moscow Exchange and their support in 2022. We are sure that the implementation of measures to achieve sustainability goals is a valuable contribution by Moscow Exchange to the development of the Russian economy and helps us remain a reliable and responsible financial market participant. There is no doubt that this work will continue, with new ambitious objectives ahead of us in the area of ESG transformation of our business.