Global OTC is an Alternative Trading System (“ATS”) registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and operated by Archipelago Trading Services, Inc. (“ATSI”), a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). ATSI personnel oversee the operation of Global OTC. Although ATSI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NYSE Group, Inc., Global OTC is not a stock exchange or self-regulatory organization and is not subject to oversight by NYSE Regulation, Inc., which performs self-regulatory organization functions with respect to the NYSE affiliated U.S. securities exchanges.
Global OTC is not a securities exchange and the OTC equity securities traded on Global OTC are not US Exchange listed securities. The information contained herein is for reference purposes only and is neither an offer nor a solicitation to purchase or sell any security.
American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) are securities traded on U.S. markets that allow foreign issuers to gain access to the U.S. capital markets. ADRs are issued by U.S. banks with whom the foreign issuer deposits common shares of the issuer’s stock. An ADR generally represents the right to own one or more common shares of the underlying securities deposited with the U.S. bank. As a result, the price of ADRs generally track the price of the underlying shares.
ADRs may be either sponsored or unsponsored. Unsponsored ADRs are only traded over-the-counter and are issued by the U.S. depositary bank without any formal agreement between it and the foreign issuer. Sponsored ADRs are issued pursuant to an agreement between the U.S. depositary bank and the foreign issuer, which must meet certain qualification, disclosure, and reporting requirements.
For more information about ADRs, please visit the SEC’s website, here: http://www.sec.gov/answers/adrs.htm.