Bank of New York revamps ADR Web site

The Bank of New York, the world's largest depositary for American depositary receipts (ADRs), and compiler of the ADR Indices, has relaunched its ADR website with a raft of new features for users.

The relaunch of the information site comes as the bank reports six-month depositary receipt trading volume on the NYSE. The Amex and Nasdaq is up 21% from the first half of 2000, reaching 17 billion shares. But the number of new ADR programs, as anyone familiar with the large number of postponed deals in Asia will attest, has dropped dramatically. Non-US companies and governments from 11 countries raised $3.8 billion through 14 depositary receipt offerings in the first half, compared to the $18.3 billion raised last year with 66 offerings by non-US companies and governments from 26 countries.