Major Companies and the Path to Going Public: Who Will Make the First Move?

Roberts Idelsons, CEO, Signet Bank

Latvia’s capital market presents a paradox. On one side are investors with funds available and an interest in backing promising companies. On the other are major Latvian businesses for which entering the domestic stock market could be the next step in their development. Yet these companies remain hesitant. With both sides waiting for a breakthrough, the greatest opportunity may belong to the company willing to take the first step.

The data show that investors are far from passive. In 2025, trading turnover in Latvia’s capital market increased by 24%, while the number of transactions rose by 10% compared with 2024. These figures suggest that individuals are allocating more money to investments, while institutions are also becoming more active. Signet Bank’s Latvian Capital Market Activity Barometer 2025 [1] reached its highest level on record, driven primarily by increased investor activity and the growing visibility of capital market topics in public discourse.

On the supply side, however, progress has been considerably slower. No IPOs took place on the Riga Stock Exchange in 2025. New issuance activity was concentrated in the bond market, where 32 offerings raised a combined €1.5 billion in Latvia. Developments in 2026 provide further evidence of strong investor appetite. Latvenergo’s €300 million green bond offering attracted more than €2 billion in demand, demonstrating that capital is available for high-quality issuers. Yet one essential element remains missing: equity offerings from large, well-known Latvian companies.

Why Not Be the First Major Company to Go Public?

In conversations with business owners about stock market listings, we regularly hear the same response: show me a successful Latvian example, and then I will consider doing the same. Signet Bank’s latest survey of Latvian business leaders’ financial sentiment points to one reason for this hesitation [2]. Only 44% of respondents had heard of the financing opportunities available through capital markets. Limited knowledge of these options, combined with the lack of successful domestic IPO examples, remains a major obstacle to companies considering a listing.

This creates a vicious cycle. Companies want to see a successful local example before making their own move, but that example cannot emerge until one of them is willing to go first. Latvia’s largest businesses often have another reason to hesitate. If a company already generates more than €100 million in annual revenue, why list in Riga at all? Why not look directly to Warsaw, Stockholm, or London?

The ambition is sound and even commendable. In practice, however, even Latvia’s largest companies would be just one of many issuers competing for attention on international exchanges. At home, that same company would have a much greater opportunity to stand out. The Riga Stock Exchange should therefore not be viewed as a less attractive alternative to an international listing. On the contrary, it could serve as a strong starting point for pursuing broader ambitions abroad.

The First Mover Stands to Gain More Than Capital

An IPO by a large, widely recognized Latvian company would become one of the most significant events in the domestic market. Beyond greater publicity, it would attract increased attention from analysts, institutional investors, and retail investors.

Going public is also more than a means of raising capital. It marks an important stage in a company’s development, strengthening corporate governance, improving transparency, and helping build an internationally recognized reputation.

Estonia’s Enefit Green demonstrates the importance of local investor interest for a major company. Its 2021 IPO attracted 60,000 retail investors, representing approximately 4% of Estonia’s population. While this does not guarantee a comparable response in Latvia, it illustrates what a large company can achieve with an offering that is both compelling and easy for domestic investors to understand: capital for growth and a broad local shareholder base with a vested interest in the company’s future success.

Latvia’s capital market does not lack capital or investors. What it needs are high-quality issuers. The first company to seize this opportunity stands to gain not only funding for future growth, but also a distinctive position that later entrants will find far more difficult to replicate.

The question is no longer whether Latvia’s capital market is ready for a major private-sector IPO. It is which company will be prepared to seize the opportunity.

[1] Data from the Latvian Capital Market Activity Barometer 2025, published by Signet Bank and LETA.

[2] Signet Bank’s Financial Sentiment of Latvian Business Leaders survey, conducted by Mindshare Latvia in February 2026. The survey included 505 business owners, executives, and chief financial officers, who assessed business conditions and development prospects for 2025–2026