China is very likely to become Nasdaq's biggest source of non-US
listings by the end of 2007, according to NASDAQ Stock Market vice
chairman Michael Oxley.
Although Oxley declined to give the specific number, there must
be at least 23 more Chinese firms to be listed by year end for
China to catch up with Israel, Nasdaq's current biggest source of
non-US listings, who has about 70 listed companies on the
market.
Forty-seven Chinese companies have been listed on Nasdaq so far,
with 13 listed in 2007 and nine in 2006, said Oxley, best known as
a co-author of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which tightened US rules on
financial reporting and governance.
The act is in response to a string of corporate scandals, such
as Enron. However, some companies complained the strict rules
resulted in enormous auditing expense.
Oxley said the measures haven't discouraged Chinese companies
from listing on Nasdaq, though its president, Bob Greifeld, said
last year they were hindering efforts to attract international
listings.
"It's a combination of accessing the most liquid and visible
market in the world and, I guess you could call it, the prestige of
listing with a market that has such high standards," Oxley
said.
"I think they aspire to play in the big leagues, and they know
they have to meet these requirements to do so," he said, "so
instead of whining or backing off, they have made a determination
that this is a competitive advantage to them in the marketplace to
say they have made a decision to meet these higher standards."
Furthermore, the auditing measures have been modified from one
same standard for all companies to different standards based on the
company size and the risk that a company is able to cause, he
said.
"It has more flexibility and can significantly reduce auditing
expense for small companies," he said, "it will help Nasdaq attract
more listings, including those in China," he said.
Those on Nasdaq include Internet search engine Baidu.com Inc.,
Web portals Sina.com Corp. and Sohu.com Inc., and Suntech Power
Holdings Ltd., a maker of solar power equipment.
To attract more Chinese listings, Nasdaq is applying to open a
representative office in Beijing.
(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2007)