OREANDA-NEWS. Ventspils nafta (NASDAQ OMX RIGA: VNF1R) has been named as the company with the Best Interactive Investor Relations in the Baltic securities market by NASDAQ OMX. The award was presented at the Baltic Market Awards ceremony on Thursday, January 30. JSC Ventspils nafta was also awarded second place for “Most Visible Improvement over the year”.

“For the last three years the company's management has worked purposefully to improve its performance in investor relations. Transparency, openness and good corporate governance underpin investor confidence. This award demonstrates our commitment to engaging with investors through all the appropriate communications channels,” said, Robert Kirkup, Chairman of the Management Board of JSC Ventspils nafta.

“As investor interest in the Baltic markets increases, the ability of companies to respond to changes in the culture of investor relations, such as the requirement for high-quality and timely information, the ability to act in accordance with market trends in choosing communication channels and to actively use them, becomes more important. Investor relations in the Baltic are improving and constantly becoming more dynamic. I am satisfied that Ventspils nafta has achieved the highest standards in the Baltics in this category,” says Daiga Auzina-Melalksne, Head of Exchange Services at NASDAQ OMX Baltic Market.

The Baltic Market Awards commenced in 2006. They were established with the aim of highlighting the highest achievements in investor relations among issuers in Latvia and the Baltics, as well as to motivate companies to focus on investor relations. Each company is evaluated by over 160 criteria, including the quality of their annual reports and interim reports, notifications to the stock exchange, companies' websites by independent experts. In total 52 companies were evaluated this year.

The evaluation committee of the Baltic Market Awards consisted of representatives from the media, academic community, institutional investors and management of the Baltic stock exchanges.