Non-financial companies, banks, and the public sector increased their ownership of shares on the Spanish Stock Exchange by the end of 2023, with international investors still controlling around half of its market capitalization. This is reported in the Report on the Ownership of Spanish Listed Shares published today by BME’s Studies Department.
As highlighted in the report, the public sector’s ownership of the Stock Exchange reached its highest level (16.6%) in 1992 when the privatization process of a large number of public companies began, reducing it to residual levels (0.6%). However, this trend has been reversing 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%, valued at around 23,000 million euros. The data in the report refer to the end of 2023, so they do not yet reflect the successive acquisitions of Telefónica shares, at least up to 10% of the capital, carried out in 2024.
Another noteworthy fact is the significant presence of non-resident investors in the Spanish stock market, accounting for 49% of the market capitalization, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from the previous year. Once again, the compared data on the participation of international investors in both listed and non-listed companies stands out. In the former, on average foreign investors hold 25% compared to 48.7% in those that are listed in the market, demonstrating that being listed on the Stock Exchange is an attractive feature for international investors.
In this category, sovereign wealth funds are taking on a growing role, such as the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, which had a stake close to 12.5 billion euros in the Spanish Stock Exchange at the end of 2023, the Qatari QIA (7.1 billion), the Japanese GPIF (around 3.2 billion), or the Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund, GIC (1.6 billion). In terms of large international asset managers, notable mentions include BlackRock, which holds 30.6 billion euros in Spanish listed companies, Vanguard Group with over 21.8 billion, and Fidelity with almost 9.5 billion.
The report emphasizes that the high participation of international investors in the Spanish Stock Exchange further underscores the importance of promoting listing on the Stock Exchange so that more companies can benefit from the advantages of financial markets, such as global investment flows. This is highlighted in the White Paper on boosting the competitiveness of Spanish financial markets, published by BME in January and which has been widely acclaimed in the sector.
Regarding families, the report reveals that their participation in the Spanish Stock Exchange increased by two tenths in 2023 to reach 16.4%. 12.5% of Spanish households own shares in listed companies, totaling 2.4 million families, according to the latest Family Financial Survey conducted by the Banco de España. Although the total financial assets held by Spanish households reached 2.83 trillion euros, an increase of 5.8% compared to 2022 and a growth of 40% compared to a decade ago, they still maintain a high concentration in bank deposits.
Lastly, non-financial companies control 21.9% of the Spanish Stock Exchange, up nine tenths from a year ago and a nine-year record; banks and savings banks hold a 3.5% stake after a rebound of four tenths, and Collective Investment Institutions, insurance companies, and other non-banking financial institutions control 5.9% of the total listed shares, the same percentage as a year before.
Referrer: MiMub in Spanish
