In 2024, we can be very pleased with the performance of the stock market. According to The Economist, the Ljubljana Stock Exchange boasts the highest annual growth of the stock market among developed economies. Despite a significant rise in stock prices, we can still take pride in comparatively high dividend yields. More importantly, market liquidity and trading volumes have substantially improved compared to the previous year. From a macroeconomic perspective, 2024 brought economic growth stabilization and a gradual decline in inflation Central banks, amid an improved inflation outlook and with the aim of stimulating economic growth despite low unemployment rates, initiated a cycle of lowering key interest rates.

The beginning of 2024 will undoubtedly be remembered for the much-anticipated February listing of sovereign bonds for Slovenian retail investors, which brought 5,659 new investors or newly opened trading accounts to the market. The year was also marked by other listings, including units of open-end funds, bonds, and commercial papers. We welcomed a new liquidity provider, Raiffeisen Bank International AG. A notable milestone was the listing of RELR shares by Relax d.d. in the standard market segment, marking the first new listing in this segment since 2022.

The first quarter of the year on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange was also highlighted by the establishment of the Sustainable Finance Market and the conditions for listing alternative investment funds on the exchange. For professional investors, we organized two online webcasts and two investment conferences, attracting a wide range of international investors. In collaboration with financial industry partners, we brought the capital market closer to existing small and new potential investors through regular quarterly trading reviews and numerous educational events, both live and online.

We successfully concluded the year with the traditional Ljubljana Stock Exchange Awards ceremony. During the event, the Ministry of Finance presented in detail the proposal for Individual Investment Accounts (INR), aimed at encouraging small investors to participate more broadly in the capital market. At the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, we view this proposal as a crucial measure for revitalizing Slovenia's capital market and strongly support it.

In 2024, changes also occurred in the management of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. On September 1 Mr. Marko Bombač, CFA, FRM, started his tenure as our new CEO.

The SBITOP index grew by 33.0% in the last year and ended the year at 1,666.66 points. It reached the highest value on 16th July 2024 at 1,693.57 points, and the lowest on 3rd January 2024 when it was valued at 1,249.14 points. The SBITOP TR index, which also includes dividends, increased by an impressive 42.1% and recorded a value of 2,394.06 points. We also witnessed a positive trend in ADRIAprime and CEEplus indices.

The total LJSE turnover in 2024 amounted to EUR 505.6 million, which is 53.1% more than the previous year. Turnover without blocks amounted to EUR 464.9 million, which is 58.3% more than in 2023. Most of the turnover was made with shares: EUR 485.1 million, followed by treasury bills with EUR 13.3 million, bonds with EUR 6.7 million and structured products with EUR 0.6 million. In 2024 EUR 81.4 million of turnover was performed from the service of liquidity providing.

In 2024, Krka (KRKG) shares have again generated the largest amount of turnover without block trades, which was EUR 156.8 million or 33.7% of the total turnover without block trades realized on the stock market. Second place went to NLB (NLBR). The latter generated EUR 152.0 million of turnover without block trades, representing 32.7% of the total turnover without block trades generated on the stock market, followed by Cinkarna Celje (CICG) with 27.5 million or 5.9% of the total turnover without block trades.

The overall market capitalization of the stock market was EUR 50.2 billion at the end of the year, which is 8.4% more than at the end of 2023. The overall equity market capitalization was EUR 12.0 billion, which is 30.9% more than at the end of 2023. At the end of the year, 62 instruments were included in trading on the regulated market.

This year 1 share, 2 ETFs, 5 new bonds and 25 treasury bills were listed on the stock exchange market.

The total turnover on the SI ENTER market (MTF) amounted in 2024 to EUR 1.0 million, which is 23.9% less than the previous year. The average daily number of trades was 1.0, and the average value of a trade was EUR 3,852.9. In 2024 11 new instruments were listed on the SI ENTER market, namely 1 share, 4 bonds and 6 commercial papers.