Trading volume in depositary receipts increased 11% in 2010, and in value upwards of 30%, according to just-released reports by J.P. Morgan and BNY Mellon. The surge in volume is an all-time, year-on-year high for depositary receipts, which the firms say have grown to become popular vehicles for portfolio diversification and cross-border investing.
According to J.P. Morgan, the value of DRs traded in the first 11 months of 2010 was $3.2 trillion compared with $2.5 trillion in the same period of 2009. Trading volume in that period was 138 billion DRs versus the same period in 2009 when volume was 124 billion DRs, an 11% increase. BNY Mellon says the total number of DRs traded in 2010 should reach 150 billion by the end of the year.
New DR programs and capital raisings will finish above 2009 levels, but below historical highs of 2007, according to BNY Mellon. And while the volume of DRs traded is at a record high, the firm says the value still has not returned to its pinnacle volume from 2007.
“Investors are using DRs as an easy, effective way to diversify their portfolio and gain exposure to equities outside their local market,” says Michael Cole-Fontayn, CEO of BNY Mellon’s Depositary Receipts business. “The DR industry saw solid growth in 2010 in nearly every key metric more than 150 new sponsored DR programs were created, and we expect record trading volume by year-end. Leading companies worldwide clearly continue to embrace DRs as a vital tool for their global expansion.
Both firms agree the growth of emerging markets likewise is driving the growth in DRs.
According to BNY Mellon, as of November 30 this year, investors were able to select from a record 3,289 sponsored and unsponsored DR programs for companies from 78 countries. The world’s largest DR program by value was Brazil’s Vale, with more than $46 billion worth of DRs outstanding.
Issuers raised more than $20.3 billion through primary and follow-on DR offerings in the first 11 months of 2010, compared to $17.1 billion in the same period of 2009, according to J.P. Morgan. IPO capital-raising saw 72 new issuers raise $6.9 billion in the first 11 months of 2010 through IPO listings in New York, London, Luxembourg, Paris, Singapore or through private placements, as compared to 22 issuers raising $7.9 billion in the same period of 2009.
BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) accounted for 90% of total capital raised, according to J.P. Morgan. The DR IPO markets in China and India bounced back with 29 and 32 IPOs, respectively, a new record. The year also saw the first DR IPOs from Russia and the Middle East since the second quarter of 2008.
Key DR markets remained resilient in 2010. As issuers from emerging markets continue to access the US, Western European and Asian capital markets, we expect a steady increase in capital-raising via DRs, says Claudine Gallagher, global head of J.P. Morgans DR business. Weve seen markets in Hong Kong, Brazil, India and Russia facilitate the creation of new local DR programs, and we expect that trend to continue in 2011.