Sox is not deterring listings, claims NYSE chief

Duncan Niederauer, speaking at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association technology conference in New York, also claimed that a corner has been turned and the IPO exodus from the US has undergone a reversal.

"What has been coming out of the Treasury recently has been thoughts that the pendulum is about to swing in favour of New York. Historically Chinese companies have stayed in Hong Kong because the market is mature enough that they can raise capital there, but in the eight weeks I've been with the NYSE, we've done six to 10 giant foreign IPOs," said Niederauer.

"We hear a lot about Sox, that a lot of companies don't want to go public in the US anymore, particularly foreign issuers. While we certainly hope some of those rules and regulations are going to begin to be relaxed – and I think the signs are that they might have already been relaxed enough – I don't see that stopping companies from coming to market," he continued.

"I think historically Sox has absolutely not deterred companies from listing here. Forgetting foreign companies just for a moment, Sox has been a motivation for some smaller American companies to go private since they don't want to have to sign up to a lot of the rigours that the regulation puts you through."

"But the pendulum is swinging back, and all we have to do is stay engaged on the subject and see where that takes us. Things have been a little more competitive with foreign markets than we might have liked in the last few years, but I'm optimistic that things are changing," Niederauer added.

While falling IPO volumes have undoubtedly blighted American capital markets in the past three years, there is fierce debate as to whether Sox is to blame. A US Treasury meeting of high-profile investors and financial policymakers held in March concluded that maturing foreign markets are now allowing foreign issuers to list locally without having to come to New York to raise capital.

Niederauer went on to discuss the rising threat to the NYSE presented by other exchanges, both within the US and beyond, that are positioning themselves to take a larger slice of the global exchange market.

"There really is no other animal like NYSE-Euronext, but I think Nasdaq, the London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Börse, the International Securities Exchange and [Nordic exchange] OMX are trying to become global marketplaces," he said.

"When we put NYSE and Euronext together – and I'm sure there are more [acquisitions] to come – we're creating an ongoing multi-product global footprint unprecedented in the exchange space."

"Several of the most recent IPOs we've got have been either Chinese or Indian companies. Just three weeks ago I rang the trading bell with the Argentinian electricity company, so firms are still very much coming to the NYSE," Niederauer concluded.