Chinesepod - Nasdaq expects to list 23 more Chinese companies by year end

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BIZCHINA / News

Nasdaq expects to list 23 more Chinese companies by year end

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-13 08:46

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
13listed 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.

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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.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

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