The 21st German Corporate Conference (GCC) jointly hosted by UniCredit and Kepler Cheuvreux held from 17 - 19 January 2022, proved again to be the meeting point for German and Austrian corporates with key international investors at the beginning of the new year. With another record attendance of 180 German and Austrian corporates meeting with 1,000 institutional investors from around the globe, this year's conference demonstrated again its acknowledged relevance for our clients, our Equity Capital Markets and the broader Corporate & Individual Solutions business in these two core regions.
During the three-day event corporate leaders from Germany and Austria shared their thinking, not only on the new financial year but also with regard to how business models are set to evolve against the backdrop of the global challenges we are facing.
"The strong response also this year confirms the German Corporate Conference as the premier Equity conference and moreover the attractiveness of our offering. Giving access to such a platform is clearly a competitive advantage for our corporate clients and the strategic dialogue with them. We at UniCredit are ready to accompany our clients with top-quality solutions and are grateful for their trust", said Jan Kupfer, Head of Corporates Germany and Member of the Management Board of UniCredit Bank AG.
Alongside the well-known format of company presentations and One-on-One Meetings, the conference agenda was complemented by keynote sessions elaborating on the current social, political and economic environment, the outlook for equity markets and the increasing focus on sustainable financing and transition from a brown to a green economy.
In an instructive and insightful session titled, "The 2020s: a Most Disturbed Decade", Christopher Potts, Head of Economics & Strategy at Kepler Cheuvreux, shared some key highlights on the future macroeconomics developments the industry will have to expect and cope with in the post-pandemic decade ahead. In an era of high dependence on debt and capital subsidization in the West, Christopher Potts expects the hyper-expansionistic policy response to the crisis is about to show its negative and far-reaching consequences on the economic landscape. He further expects an overall slower growth trend and a period of high volatility in Q2-2022 to be offset by some international diversification in asset portfolios. With Central Banks delaying restrictive monetary and budgetary policies, equity is forecasted to continue being the bull market until 2023.
In light of the future macroeconomic landscape, sustainability will not only be required for the fiscal and monetary policies regime, but also for equity markets, with sustainable finance becoming of utmost importance for the transition to a circular and green economy. Alex Hartman, CFO at Northvolt shared his insights on "Batteries as the future of e-mobility - Northvolt at the forefront in Europe".
In a dialogue with Alex Potter, Senior Research Analyst at Piper Sandler, Alex Hartman outlined the journey of Northvolt as a prominent Swedish battery developer and manufacturer in shaping the future of electric mobility and in leading the European and global market towards a green energetic transition. Additionally, the speaker presented the strategic roadmap of Northvolt to a decarbonized economy and society alongside its unique positioning as a European leader and its strong value proposition backed by a completely circular business model.
The GCC is the ideal platform to showcase the strong partnership of UniCredit and Kepler Cheuvreux in Equity Capital Markets. With 36 transactions since 2020, UniCredit is the most active ECM bank in Germany ranking #1 in Equity Capital Markets in Germany. In cooperation with Kepler Cheuvreux, UniCredit offers the leading pan-European equities platform with peerless investor reach, unmatched distribution capabilities, top-ranked equity research and outstanding deal flow, having successfully completed 150+ ECM transactions in Europe since 2020. Our platform has 1,000+ stocks under coverage and access to 1,200+ investors in Europe.
Samuel Kendall, Head of Advisory & Capital Markets at UniCredit states: "Advisory & Capital Markets has a significant role to play in the success of UniCredit Unlocked of which our ECM business is an important part. A trusting relationship with our clients and business partners combined with our vast market knowledge are the key pillars on which UniCredit's top position is based in German Equity Capital Markets. We at UniCredit together with Kepler Cheuvreux want to continue this success story in 2022 and are fully committed to delivering best-in-class solutions that meet all our client's need and which support our clients in the best possible way."
In 2022 we expect the ECM market to be open and receptive with refinancing volumes increasing and issuance expected to remain high in particular for IPOs, ABBs and convertible bonds. In fact, UniCredit´s future prospects on the stock market are highly promising and set the stage for a large number of transactions for growth, despite a high expected volatility with a DAX 18,000 target price.