SGX launches ADRs of 19 major Asian companies

ADR offering gives customers opportunities to act quickly on information and news-flow on major Asian companies.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Tuesday said it will quote American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of 19 major Asian companies on its new GlobalQuote board from 22 October 2010.

Many of these companies, including Baidu and Suntech Power Holdings, do not have Asian home exchanges. For the first time, SGX-quoted ADRs enable investors to act on news-flow about these companies during Asian hours. ADRs quoted on GlobalQuote also provide investors with round-the-clock trading opportunities as they are fully fungible with US-listed ADRs, according to an SGX report.

The launch of the trading of these 19 ADRs marks the start of cooperation between SGX and NASDAQ OMX to bring ADR quotations to GlobalQuote, thereby linking up market participants across both trading pools. GlobalQuote is SGX’s quotation board for international securities such as ADRs, depositary receipts and depositary shares of companies already listed on other exchanges. Bank of New York Mellon acts as the depositary bank for SGX’s new ADR programme.

The SGX and NASDAQ OMX cooperation will add more ADRs onto GlobalQuote, providing investors a wider choice to some of the world’s most exciting companies, and bringing an array of trading opportunities previously unavailable during the Asian day.

Mr Magnus Bocker, CEO of Singapore Exchange said, “Our ADR offering gives customers new opportunities to act quickly on information and news-flow on major Asian companies. We will continue to add to our suite of securities on GlobalQuote through our work with NASDAQ OMX. All these initiatives reinforce SGX’s Asian Gateway proposition as a preferred venue for international issuers and investors.”

Mr Bob Greifeld, CEO of NASDAQ OMX said, “We believe this unique venture has great potential and will serve to expand NASDAQ OMX’s global offering. We also believe it will add significant value to our US-listed companies in Asia who can increase their exposure amongst the Asian-Pacific investor community by giving them access to local companies within local trading hours.”

Mr Michael Cole-Fontayn, CEO of the Depositary Receipts business of BNY Mellon, said, “Our involvement in this innovative quotation platform at SGX underlines our industry leadership by bringing our clients closer to investors and intermediaries. SGX GlobalQuote will benefit global investors by providing access and extended trading opportunities in the region, demonstrating the continued evolution of the DR product while ensuring the needs of the market are met.”