Although the trading volumes of the Spanish stock exchange have not yet managed to acquire all the expected attractiveness, non-financial companies, banks and the public sector At the end of 2023, they increased their stake in the shares of this market, in which international investors continue to control almost half of its capitalization, according to data from the Report On the ownership of listed Spanish shares, published this Tuesday by the BME Studies Service.
The document emphasizes that the investment of The public sector in the Spanish stock market reached its highest level in 26 years, with 3.3%. This segment It reached its highest level (16.6%) in 1992, when the privatization process of a large number of public companies began, which brought it back to residual levels (0.6%). However, this dynamic has been reversed in the last decade after public aid to some banking entities and the maintenance and revaluation of relevant stakes in listed companies, reaching the current data that place its weight at 3.3%. around 23 billion euros. The data in the report refer to the end of 2023, so they do not yet include the successive acquisitions of Telefónica shares up to at least 10% of the capital already carried out in 2024.
Although the presence of non-resident investors in the Spanish stock market represents up to 49% of the capitalization, this figure is 1.3 percentage points lower than last year. This year again, the comparative data on the participation of international investors in unlisted and listed companies stand out. “In the first case, foreign investors hold on average 25% compared to 48.7% of those listed on the market, which shows that stock market listing is attractive for international investors,” explains BME.
International funds and managers with the largest participation
Among the vehicles that stand out in this category with a considerable increase in weight, are the Norwegian sovereign fund, which at the end of 2023 had a participation of almost 12.5 billion euros in the Spanish stock market, the Qatari QIA (7.1 billion), the GPIF of Japan (around 3.2 billion) or the Sovereign Fund of Singapore, GIC (1.6 billion). Regarding the large international managers, among others, they stand out: BlackRock, which owns 30.6 billion euros of Spanish listed companiesVanguard Group, with more than 21.8 billion, or Fidelity, with nearly 9.5 billion.
In the case of families, the report reveals that their participation in the Spanish stock market increased by two tenths in 2023 to reach 16.4%. 12.5% of Spanish households hold shares in listed companies, which represents a figure of 2.4 million families, according to figures from the latest Financial Survey of Families, prepared by the Bank of Spain. Although the financial assets accumulated in the hands of Spanish households reached 2,830 billion euros, 5.8% more than in 2022 and a growth of 40% compared to ten years ago, they continue to maintain a high concentration in bank deposits.
For his part, Non-financial companies control 21.9% of the Spanish stock market, nine tenths more than a year ago and a nine-year record; Banks and savings banks reach a share of 3.5% after a rebound of 4 tenths and collective investment institutions, insurance companies and other non-bank financial institutions control 5.9% of the total listed shares, the same percentage as a year earlier.
