General Question

ThomasTang's avatar

How does ADS-American Deposit Share work?

Asked by ThomasTang (2points) September 24th, 2009

Poeple describe 1million ADS, and collect $1million dollars, it that means 1ads=1dollar?

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1 Answer

grumpyfish's avatar

From http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/ads.asp :
What Does American Depositary Share – ADS Mean?
A U.S. dollar-denominated equity share of a foreign-based company available for purchase on an American stock exchange. American Depositary Shares (ADSs) are issued by depository banks in the U.S. under agreement with the issuing foreign company; the entire issuance is called an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) and the individual shares are referred to as ADSs.

Depending on the level of compliance with U.S. securities regulations the foreign company wishes to follow, the company may either list its shares over-the-counter (OTC) with low reporting requirements or on a major exchange like the NYSE or Nasdaq. Listings on the latter exchanges generally require the same level of reporting as domestic companies, and also require adherence to GAAP accounting rules.
Investopedia Says
Investopedia explains American Depositary Share – ADS
Foreign companies that choose to offer shares on U.S. exchanges gain the advantage of a wider investor base, which can also lower costs of future capital. For U.S. investors, ADSs offer the opportunity to invest in foreign companies without dealing with currency conversions and other cross-border administrative hoops.

Even though ADSs represent real claims to foreign shares (and could be converted if the investor wished to do so), there is currency risk involved in holding them. Fluctuations in the currency exchange rate between the USD and the foreign currency will affect the price of shares as well as any income payments, which must be converted into U.S. dollars.

And from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Depositary_Share
ADSs are U.S. dollar denominated and each share represents one or more underlying shares in the subject. These ADSs confer full rights of ownership (including dividends, voting rights) to these underlying shares, which are held on deposit by a custodian bank in the company’s home country or territory.

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