12/16/03
ADR Indices Show Strong Gains Across Geographic Segments
NEW YORK, N.Y., December 16, 2003 - The Bank of New York projected today that 2003 American depositary receipt (ADR) trading share volume, value of shares traded, and capital raisings will post increases over 2002 levels, while overall ADR investment performance will deliver consistent gains across the major geographic segments.
"Growing investor confidence, coupled with improving economic conditions, has resulted in strengthening investor and issuer interest in ADRs this year," said Christopher Sturdy, managing director and Head of The Bank of New York’s American Depositary Receipt Division.
The Bank of New York projects that 33 billion depositary receipts, valued at $614 billion, will trade by year-end, compared with 32 billion depositary receipts, valued at $550 billion, for 2002. This represents an increase of 3% and 12% in share volume and value, respectively.
Depositary receipt trading volume for 2003 was highest for companies from the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Netherlands and Finland. Programs with the most active volume of depositary receipt trading activity were primarily from the telecommunications, semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries, including Nokia (Finland), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (Taiwan), Elan (Ireland) and Ericsson (Sweden).
ADR investment performance, as tracked by The Bank of New York ADR Indices*, will show strong gains for 2003 on a composite basis and across geographic segments. As of December 12, 2003, The Bank of New York ADR Indices show the following results:
| Index Name | % Increase |
| The Bank of New York Composite ADR Index | + 30.42% |
| The Bank of New York Latin America ADR Index | + 61.10% |
| The Bank of New York Emerging Markets ADR Index |
+ 47.63% |
| The Bank of New York Asia ADR Index |
+ 32.71% |
| The Bank of New York Developed Markets ADR Index | + 29.08% |
| The Bank of New York Europe ADR Index | + 28.74% |
Capital raisings increased by approximately 60% in 2003, with non-U.S. companies and governments raising more than $10 billion through 38 depositary receipt offerings, compared to $6.2 billion raised through 29 offerings by non-U.S. companies and governments in the same period last year. More than 90% of capital raisings were initiated by Asian companies, including China Life, Cathay Financial, Chungwa Telecom, Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group, Powerchip and Taiwan Semiconductor.
In 2003, 82 new public and private depositary receipt programs were established, including companies from 25 countries. This compares to 145 programs from 34 countries in the same period last year. The most notable New York Stock Exchange listings included Sasol (South Africa) and Mitchells & Butlers (U.K.), which was formed as a result of the separation of Six Continents into two companies.
Mergers and acquisitions by non-U.S. companies of U.S. companies using depositary receipts included HSBC’s acquisition of Household International Inc., which was valued at approximately $13 billion.
2003 Study by Oxford Metrica Quantifies Depositary Receipt Value Creation
Oxford Metrica, a global independent strategic advisor, completed an extensive depositary receipt study in 2003, revealing that companies that have launched depositary receipt programs on U.S. exchanges have increased the value of their share prices in their local markets by up to 10% over the period of one year and have improved liquidity by 27% on average. Terminating a depositary receipt has the opposite effect, dropping a company’s share price by up to 25% over a year. The research was conducted on a representative universe of 767 depositary receipt programs between 1980 and 2003.
The Bank of New York is the world’s largest depositary for American and global depositary receipt facilities, which allows non-U.S. companies to offer dollar-denominated securities to investors worldwide. The Bank currently issues depositary receipts for more than 1,400 programs representing 70 countries and accounts for 67% of all public sponsored depositary receipt programs. For additional information on The Bank of New York’s depositary receipt products and services, please visit http://www.adrbny.com/.
The Bank of New York Company, Inc. (NYSE: BK) is a global leader in securities servicing for issuers, investors and financial intermediaries. The Company plays an integral role in the infrastructure of the capital markets, servicing securities in more than 100 markets worldwide. The Company provides quality solutions through leading technology for global corporations, financial institutions, asset managers, governments, non-profit organizations, and individuals. Its principal subsidiary, The Bank of New York, founded in 1784, is the oldest bank in the United States and has a distinguished history of serving clients around the world through its five primary businesses: Securities Servicing and Global Payment Services, Private Client Services and Asset Management, Corporate Banking, Global Market Services, and Retail Banking. Additional information on the Company is available at http://www.bankofny.com/.
* The Bank of New York ADR IndexSM is the only real-time index to track all depositary receipts and New York shares traded on the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ. The index is capitalization-weighted and adjusted for free-float using Dow Jones’ current methodology. The visibility and use of the index continues to grow with over 25 vendors disseminating its data and approximately $34 billion benchmarked to it. In addition to the composite, there are 3 regional, 4 market, 3 sector, 7 select and 41 country indices.
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