Analytics, Estonia, Financial Services

"The stock market needs businesses, including state-owned ones, there's been talk about this for years," Ots told  in an interview. "Holdings in state companies and state bonds are the mantra that I'm not going to give up. While it's a basic thing that large companies are listed, you can't force anybody to list. I intend to work a lot with medium-sized and small companies to get them on the alternative market or the bond market."

"As things stand now, the stock market looks like a place where you've got nothing to do. I would like to change that attitude. There are no quick and easy victories. You have to be consistent. While I do believe that educating the investor is on a significantly better level now than years ago, we cannot say that all has been done," he added.

"What the investor needs is businesses. Now the turnover is low, the choice is narrow. This is what keeps investors away," Ots said. He said one option would be state bonds, which would help establish the notion of risk free rate in Estonia.

"State bonds are a long-term, stable and safe investment instrument alongside bank deposits. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia we could issue a 100-year bond," the manager of Nasdaq Tallinn said.

Second and third pillar pension funds too should invest more in Estonian bonds, according to Ots. "The arrival of state companies on the stock market would set things moving in that direction," he said.