Year:    1993

Author:    Paul, Walter

Credit and Capital Markets – Kredit und Kapital, Vol. 26 (1993), Iss. 1 : pp. 91–111

Abstract

The Development and Importance of German Shares at the International Markets

Against the background of various measures and efforts aiming at the attractiveness of the financial market place Germany and German stock the article shows at the beginning how these shares developed on international stock exchanges.

In this connection the question is as well scrutinized whether stock listings outside Germany are the final step of the Finance follows Trade Model, which reflects how flows of goods can be accompanied by financing measures. Experience evidenced that a correlation between stock listings and trade and flows of goods can be proved only partially, since a lot of German companies could make use of the heavily grown Euromarket. In addition German companies were confronted with regulations regarding a defensive admission practice of some stock exchanges which even prevented from listing.

In those cases where listings took place they were motivated financially as well as operationally and normally represented measures of targeted Investor Relations activities from which particularly the private investor benefitted because a listing enables him to follow a foreign stock in his own currency and to compare it with domestic shares. The globally operating institutional investors also welcome the stock listing, trade however on the stock exchange which is located in the country of the foreign company.

A special problem is still the listing in the United States where no German share is quoted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) since listing is doomed to failure because of the rigid attitude of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This authority requires that financial statements of foreign companies have to be established in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and not with the Home Rule. The consequence of such a procedure would be a misleading conglomerate of values which would improve neither the comparability nor the protection of the investor. Therefore German companies so far refused to adjust pointing out that the financial statements in accordance with the Accounting Directive Law are of equal quality.

Although German shares do not reflect the economic power of the Federal Republic of Germany they performed better than American and British shares on a long-term basis till 1991. Investor Relations activities might increase this performance yet.