I have spoken to two companies that specialize in dual listing OTCBB companies and other foreign markets onto the Frankfurt stock exchange. One company, who has had no luck in the past two months getting listed, and one firm who explained to me that an unofficial response has come from the compliance department within the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to advisors specifying that this month was the last of the OTC and maybe even TSX.V companies being listed on the Frankfurt based on their lack of sufficient prospectus and disclosure, and that they will require Primary Listing prospectus information.
There are many firms globally who have worked with the German markets to raise capital from individual investors, but no more rumors say from Frankfurt aligning itself with global standards that if you are going to raise capital or trade within their markets, you have to come in as if you are a primary listing… not a form dual listing with prospectus like information, but actually a prospectus that meets the standards that everyone locally requires for a primary listing.
This is the equivalent of having to file an S-1 or Prospectus Offering in the US markets. I have not received the details or whether this is factual or rumor. The reason being, is that it means that global standards of requiring prospectus, planning, and diligence before entering the public markets is available for investors and I applaud this move. If it costs 50,000 euro in professional expenses and primary listing fees, it weeds out the short sellers and grey area of the market which companies in the US have been complaining about for a decade. The only way you can list in a proper exchange is if you have the backing to do so, and that is a good message to send out.
I am assuming however, that if you list on an exchange such as the Plus Exchange in the UK or the Irish Stock Exchange’s – the Irish Enterprise Exchange, their prospectus requirements and agreements within the EU would allow you to use the same prospectus to universally apply on any of the EU exchanges. This would make sense, but I am uncertain of its fact and will be looking more into it as the European Exchanges combined with EU mobility fascinates me, especially with new and strong markets such as the Polish Stock Market.
Much of the European Exchanges cater to commodities, currency, derivatives, and big board companies. The ongoing consolidation of Exchanges such as that of the 6 which made the OMX which then merged with NASDAQ for the NASDAQ OMX Equities market, the London Stock Exchange acquiring the BIT Borsa Italiana, etc, the bigger and bigger the market moves, but it seems to be moving further and further away from small business.
It was once easy to make a list of all the exchanges in the world, and it was once easy to make a list of all their standards of listing, but in their dramatic markets, decade long merger and consolidation talks, and brushing aside of failed exchange start-ups such as Jiway and the little known attempts in Russia for small to medium enterprises, the US, Australian, and Canadian markets still look like some of the best places to build your early stage company.
In this event, it is a shame if the dual listing capabilities are wiped away or the bar is risen too high, or maybe this will just cause another market to step up and replace gaps caused by changing requirements globally. The reason being, is that listing in new markets was also a way to grow status and help capital requirements for small to medium businesses on the TSX, OTC, JSE/ALTX and ASX markets.
I believe I have all of the answers to these questions I have brought up and require fact checking, but I will be sure to write about this as time goes on, until then, have a wonderful weekend. If you are interested in the listing requirements and processes of going public for various exchanges, feel free to contact info@otclistings.com.
OTC Listings Editor – your newswire and blog for the otcbb!