Press release, September 23, 2020
The participants in the second ÖBAG Forum, which took place online under the title "Quo vadis, Economy?" with around 200 attendees, agreed: Especially in highly volatile economic times, state-owned holding companies bear a special responsibility. They are the ones who must ensure the stability and predictability of a business location and the capital market.
Thomas Schmid, CEO of ÖBAG: “The focus of ÖBAG’s work is on active portfolio management with the aim of securing and strengthening Austria’s economic position. To achieve this goal, we also see ourselves as a platform for economic policy discourse in Austria. Therefore, ÖBAG has now invited its portfolio companies and national and international business experts to the ÖBAG Forum for the second time.” Around 200 participants took part in this forum online.
Federal Minister Blümel: ÖBAG is an important partner for the stability of the business location
In his opening remarks, Finance Minister Gernot Blümel made a clear commitment to ÖBAG. He recalled that the ÖBAG Act was passed in the Austrian National Council with a two-thirds majority for good reason: "Even if this is not always acknowledged in domestic political discourse, the capital market appreciates the performance of ÖBAG and its management." He stated that ÖBAG is a partner of the Republic, contributing "expertise, stability, and composure to both strategic decisions and the management of state-owned holdings." He specifically referred to the syndicate agreements that ÖBAG concluded this year with Mubadala Investment Company (OMV), the Czech Sazka Group (Casinos), and Lufthansa/AUA to secure the future of Vienna Airport. ÖBAG safeguards jobs and strengthens the economic power of Austria.
High-ranking speakers discuss the role of the state as an investor
Yesterday, the CEOs of Austrian state-owned enterprises – Thomas Arnoldner (A1 Telekom Austria Group), Bettina Glatz-Kremsner (Casinos Austria AG), Georg Pölzl (Austrian Post AG), Michael Strugl (Verbund AG), Hans-Peter Weiss (Federal Real Estate Company mbH) – and economic experts such as Marcus Brennecke (EQT Partners), Andreas Brandstetter (UNIQA), Valerie Hackl (Austro Control), Alexis von Hoensbroech (Austrian Airlines AG), Susanne Eickermann-Riepe (RICS Germany), and Sabine Stock (Boston Consulting Group) – discussed, moderated by Matthias Wabl (Bloomberg), the role of the state as an investor and owner in the historically unprecedented situation of a global health and economic crisis. The keynote address was given by Philipp Hildebrand, Vice Chairman of BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager.
The speakers agreed that companies with significant state participation face a special responsibility in economically turbulent times. Helmut Kern, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ÖBAG, summarized the discussion: “Austria as a business location now needs innovation, a tremendous boost in digitalization, and the assurance that the supply of critical infrastructure will remain uninterrupted. This requires investment-friendly regulations. The ÖBAG's holding companies demonstrated in the difficult year of 2020 that we can all rely on them.”
https://www.oebag.gv.at/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/20201126-OTS-OeBAG-FORUM.pdf