On 5th April 2013 the American SEC in FD regulation allowed American stock exchange companies to communicate with investors using social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube etc. That was the effect of several months investigation which was connected with post of President of Netflix - Reed Hastings, who published on Facebook information on ratings of a service and related to their top production , i.e. the TV series "House Of Cards".

 
Finally, after a long-lasting battle, SEC took a decision that it is not worth fighting with inevitable. They allowed stock exchange companies to announce information which may have influence on stock exchange price using social media, if beforehand they inform which social media they will be using.
 
In Poland, still the only official channel of communication with investors is the ESPI system (Electronic System of Passing Information).  The companies do not pay for the access to the ESPI system, but it can only be used by the companies which are listed on the stock exchange, and for this they have to pay.  Polish Financial Supervision Authority is managing the system, and the distributors of information are those companies, which have the status of information agency, and most often they charge for distribution of information, or publish the information on their own websites, financing their activities from advertisements displayed there. 
Nevertheless, it is said that a company listed on Polish stock exchange should not publish any information which might have influence on share price outside the ESPI system.  Please do not ask me what it means in practice.  The truth is that these kinds of law restrictions discourage the companies to active communication with investors using social media.  Despite this we have browsed the Internet and found several exceptions, which are worth praising and supporting with pressing "Like". 
 
Some numbers, i.e. how many companies we have examined 
We have analysed companies from WIG20, mWIG40 and sWIG80 indexes.  In total they were 140 biggest companies listed on WSE.  Among them 50% (exactly 69) have their profiles on Facebook. Unfortunately, most of them were just advertising the products of the company and presenting the company's portfolio, mostly for the customers.  But there are exceptions which are praiseworthy Here is the list of 8 profiles of WSE companies on Facebook, which should be followed by every investor. 
 
The list of top 8 profiles of listed companies for investors. 
 
Fanpage of Inter Cars Company #CAR : 2953 fans, 68 people, who talk about it
Unchallenged leader of the rank  If one wonders how a profile of a stock exchange company for contact with investors should look like, one can treat Inter Cars profile as an example to follow.  The company not only multiplies the capital of shareholders, the share price went up almost by 900% from the moment of IPO, but also knows how to pass information to investors using the Facebook.  Perfect proportion of key information about the company, different kinds of analysis, information on new products and entertainment. 
 
Fanpage of Bogdanka company #LWB: 2435 fans, 9 people, who talk about it
Big surprise It might seem that it is a boring industry, not connected with Internet at all, but Bogdanka surprises with its strong presence on Facebook.  Very substantial information, interviews, analysis and interesting articles from the press on mining industry.  From time to time the company boasts with its presence on different expos, with events organized by the company and results of sport teams sponsored by the company. 
 
Fanpage of Comarch Company #CMR : 685 fans, 49 people, who talk about it
The profile of Comarch company is not a surprise, as it is only confirming the fact that it is an innovative and modern company.  Besides information on results, analysis and new contracts, one can also find interviews with company founders and information on new products.  A big ratio of active fans in comparison to registered ones shows that it is a very good interaction. 
 
Fanpage of Duon Company  #DUO: 542 fans, 38 people, who talk about it
It is true that the company has recently exaggerate with information on free calendars, which are given away, but besides this fact it is one of the most concise profiles on Facebook, from the point of view of an investor.  One can find a lot of information on analysis, financial results, interesting industry articles and many interesting news on the branch of industry.  There are even LifeHacks! 
 
Fanpage of Robyg company  #ROB: 1489 fans, 95 people, who talk about it
The only property developer from WSE who has positive attitude to Facebook.  Information on projects, sales results and planned investments.  Designs of new investments and information on realized sales.  Specifically and pertinently. 
 
Fanpage of Inpost company #ITG: 9795 fans, 144 people, who talk about it
The Inpost company is not listed on WSE directly, but it is the most important company included in Integer capital group.  The profile is mostly of PR character, but there is also some information on expansion of Inpost Group, i.e. on realized transactions, plans and another markets. 
 
Fanpage of  #SMT: 569 fans, 2 people, who talk about it
A surprise i the rank, as the company has relatively low capitalization.  But this shows that the company cares about its investors.  The profile is not updated too often, but it has all the relevant information for investors.  Analysis, results, interviews - in a nutshell, what is the most interesting for investors. 
 
 
Fanpage of Tauron company #TPE: 23139 fans, 892 people, who talk about it
Surely the most popular profile of a company, from all listed above.  Sadly, this is mostly the effect of sponsorship of Tauron company in sport and their PR activities.  Nevertheless, occasionally there is information which might be interesting from the point of view of an investor.  The profile presents links to a whole series of a TV programme "Everything you wish to know about the stock exchange" - a programme realized by TVP, sponsored by Tauron. 
 
If the company has a profile on Facebook, this means that it cares fro its investors. 
Right now, most of them treat this as a channel of promotion and a way of reaching customers.  Surely other activities, including investor relations are discouraged by a rigid Polish law.  There are of course several exceptions, such as above-mentioned companies: InterCars, Bogdanka, Comarch, Duon, Robyg, Integer, SMT and Tauron. Interesting thing about those companies is that out of those 8, only Duon made a loss of 75% since the IPO.  The share prices of the rest are in plus - from 18% in case of Tauronu to even over 1000%, in case of Integer. This shows the best that it is worth following the companies which are not afraid of meeting expectations of investors and inform them about what they do. 
 
 
Source: strefainwestorow.pl
2015-02-13
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