Depository Receipts

What is Depository Receipts?

A depositary receipt (DR) is a negotiable financial instrument issued by a bank to represent a foreign company's publicly traded securities. The depositary receipt trades on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts facilitates buying shares in foreign companies, because the shares do not have to leave the home country.

存托凭证是一种由银行发行的可转让的金融工具(negotiable financial instrument)。它代表了一个外国公司的公开上市证券(publicly traded securities)，并在本国的股票交易所(local stock exchange)交易。由于股份不需要离开原籍国（也就是外国），所以存托凭证大大促进了(facilitate)外国公司股份（在本国）的流通。

Depositary receipts that are listed and traded in the United States are American depositary receipts (ADRs). European banks issue European depository receipts (EDRs), and other banks issue global depository receipts (GDRs).

在美国交易的存托凭证叫美国存托凭证，相应的还有欧洲存托凭证和全球存托凭证。

How it works

A depositary receipt typically requires a company to meet a stock exchange’s specific rules before listing its stock for sale. For example, a company must transfer shares to a brokerage house in its home country. Upon receipt, the brokerage uses a custodian connected to the international stock exchange for selling the depositary receipts. This connection ensures that the shares of stock actually exist and no manipulation occurs between the foreign company and the international brokerage house.

存托凭证需要一个公司在上市销售其股票前满足股票交易所的规范。例如，一个外国公司必须把股票转移到其原籍国的股票交易所(brokerage house)。这家股票交易所将使用一个与国际股票交易所（international stock exchange, 一般在本国）相关的托管机构(custodian，一般为本国银行)来贩售其存托凭证。这种关联关系保证了股份确实存在并且这家外国公司和国际股票交易所之间不存在利益操纵(manipulation)。

A typical ADR goes through the following steps before it is issued:

发行典型的美国存托凭证会经历(go thru)如下步骤：

The issuing bank in the U.S. studies the financials of the foreign company in detail to assess the strength of its stock.

美方的发行银行详细|(in detail)研究这家外国公司的金融资料从而得出其股价估值(assess the strength of its stock)。

The bank buys shares of the foreign company.

这家银行买入这个外国公司的股份。

The shares are grouped into packets.

这些股份被包装为证券投资项目包。

Each packet is issued as an ADR through an American stock exchange.

这些证券投资项目包以美国存托凭证的形式在美国股票交易中心发行。

The ADR is priced in dollars, and the dividends are paid out in dollars as well, making it as simple for an American investor to buy as the stock of a U.S.-based company.

美国存托凭证以美元计价(be priced in dollars)，股息也以美元结算(be paid out)，这样对美国投资者来说就像买入一个美国公司的股票一样简单。