Foreign IPOs on the rise

Sarbanes Oxley was said to be a huge downer for the U.S. capital markets, especially the initial public offering market. People watched with dismay as companies seemed to opt for London and Asia. But that may have been a bit overblown. There were certainly other issues, notable fees. In any case, there are signs that foreign company IPOs are on the rise. So far this year, about 20 percent of all deals have been from foreign issuers, compared with about 16 percent a year ago. TheStreet.com notes that the pace of foreign offerings may well lead to a record year. Last year, foreign companies accounted for nearly one-quarter of proceeds in 2006, the highest since 1994. So all the fear may have been overblown. The real advantage to me seems to be the deeper and more forgiving after-market. AIM companies can easily end up with issuer's remorse.

For more:
- here's the article from TheStreet.com
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