Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today presented its yearly statistics for Nasdaq´s European markets. Despite a highly turbulent macro environment fueled by several unforseen external events in 2022, the Nordic and Baltic regions maintained the leadership position in several key areas, including SME listings. With 41 listings, Nasdaq Stockholm also remained the most successful listings venue in Europe in 2022.

Maintaining Nasdaq´s Position as a Leading European Listings Hub

Despite lower numbers in both capital raised and number of listings relative to the extraordinary 2021, Nasdaq remains a leading European exchange group in terms of number of new listings on its markets. In total, the Nasdaq equity markets in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and the Baltic countries welcomed 74 new listings, including 38 initial public offerings (IPOs), raising a total of EUR 762 million in risk capital. With 48 new companies welcomed in 2022, Nasdaq First North (Nasdaq´s growth market in Europe) remains the premier SME market in Europe.

“Despite an extraordinary and in many ways challenging 2022, with war in Europe, turbulent energy markets and rising inflation, Nasdaq has been able to maintain its position as a leading listings venue in Europe  Nasdaq´s European markets remain an attractive source of capital, and we continue to be the public market-of-choice for companies and investors alike across Northern Europe,” said Adam Kostyál, Head of European Listings at Nasdaq.

The biggest IPOs in terms of raised capital was Engcon AB (EUR 170 million), and the biggest listing per market cap was the dual-listing of Finnish Sampo Group on Nasdaq Stockholm (EUR 25.7 billion). Another key milestone was the switch of Embracer (market cap: EUR 5.7 billion) from First North to the Main Market.

“Throughout an extremely turbulent market environment, our team has worked tirelessly to keep driving our technology leadership, marketplace excellence and strong commitment to sustainability in order to create a world class capital market offering for both companies and investors in times of uncertainty said Bjørn Sibbern, President, European Markets at Nasdaq. “In 2023 we will continue to work together with our clients in order to build and further evolve some of the best performing markets in the world.”

ESG expansion and robust growth for Puro.earth

In 2022, Nasdaq continued to invest in strengthening its environmental, social and governance (ESG) capabilities. Nasdaq majority-owned carbon removal platform Puro.earth´s trading volumes for CO2 removal certificates (CORCs) increased by 250 % and the trading value by 350 % compared to the year before.

In March 2022, Nasdaq launched the world’s first commodity reference price indexes which track the price of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and follow the price of Carbon Removal Certificates (CORCs) issued by Puro.earth. To further underscore the potential of carbon removal as a way of reaching net-zero, Nasdaq and Puro.earth were both represented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in November.

Additionally, new listings on the Nordic Sustainable Debt Markets grew by 11 % compared to 2021. The total volume of bonds listed on the Nordic & Baltic Sustainable Debt Markets grew by 23 % to EUR 48.2 billion by the end of 2022.

Maintaining market share and Nordic trading leadership despite lower trading volumes

Following the general market trend, Nasdaq saw trading volumes in most of its European markets facing challenges in 2022, and equity trading decreased 10.8 % to a daily average volume of EUR 3.6 billion  across all markets. Nasdaq maintained a market share of 72 % during the year of lit and auction trading in its listed shares and continued to reinforce its leadership in the Nordic derivatives market. This includes Norway, where Nasdaq has managed to achieve a 55 % market share in single stock options. Throughout 2022, Nasdaq launched a number of products and services to further support the trading community, including options on the OMXS30 ESG index.