The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc (NASDAQ) said yesterday it will consider listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange when local market conditions have developed.

 

"Once China allows foreign companies to list on its exchange, the NASDAQ will consider trading its shares in Shanghai," Xu Guangxun, the NASDAQ's chief representative in China, told a news conference in Beijing.

 

China's growing capital market and flush liquidity situation is pushing greater demand for shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

 

Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said at a Shenzhen conference held on Sunday that the securities regulator wants to attract companies to sell yuan-denominated shares, including mainland firms listed in Hong Kong and other offshore companies, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

 

It also said that the Shanghai exchange is studying the feasibility of attracting major foreign companies to list on the domestic market.

 

The rising domestic stock market is heightening competition from foreign exchanges seeking listing resources in China.

 

Xu said the NASDAQ wants more Chinese firms to list with it, despite a new merger and acquisition rule that could pose difficulties for offshore listings.

 

The No 2 US bourse yesterday held a ceremony to mark the opening of its representative office in Beijing. Nineteen Chinese companies have joined the NASDAQ this year, compared with nine in 2006, and at least one more is expected in 2007, Xu said.

 

The NASDAQ currently trades 52 mainland stocks with a combined market capitalization of $57 billion.

 

Its rival, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), currently trades 38 mainland companies with a combined capitalization of $1.1 trillion. NYSE Euronext, parent of the NYSE, said yesterday it would open its Beijing office on December 11, the eve of the next round of China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue.

 

Four foreign exchanges including the NYSE, NASDAQ, Tokyo Stock Exchange, and Singapore Exchange have been allowed to open offices in China since China and the US reached an agreement in their first round of strategic economic dialogue last year.

 

(China Daily December 4, 2007)