TSX-V ranks No. 2 for new market listings*

With 2,003 growth companies listed in 2005, the Toronto-based exchange comes next in line after NASDAQ

*This is an expanded version of a summary that originally appeared in the November 2006 issue of CAmagazine.

Canada’s TSX-V rings in high on the list of exchanges for fledgling and high-growth companies. According to Grant Thornton's 2006 Global New Markets Guide, the Toronto-based exchange had 2,003 companies listed in 2005 – a showing that puts it firmly in second place after NASDAQ, with its 3,187 listings.

Other exchanges are catching up, however. The guide, which analyses the merits of the 33 stock markets competing to list growth company stocks, shows that TSX-V witnessed an increase of only 2% in 2005, while London’s AIM grew by 41%. Next on the list, Korea's KOSDAQ recorded steady year-on-year growth from 2003-05, while Singapore's SESDAQ supported 167 companies in 2005 -- an increase of 13% over the previous year.

Source: Grant Thornton's 2006 "Global new markets guide -- insight into international capital markets."
*Information featured in the first exhibit is based on the calculated average number of companies listed in each month of the year.

"We are now seeing a jostling for position in the world's global new markets,” says Mark Zastre, partner with Grant Thornton LLP in Vancouver. “The consolidation story played out in the international capital markets is now running in new markets. Each is seeking to attract premium listings and NASDAQ, AIM and TSX-V are setting a steady pace to follow."

New markets, once seen as a haven for locally based small and mid cap companies, are now attracting more international investors. Some companies are driven to list with a non-local exchange by poor liquidity in home markets, while others are pursuing dual listings to gain access to a larger investor base in markets with a larger pool of capital. Others still are attracted to the regulatory structure of international markets. AIM has been especially successful in this regard; it raised its market capitalization to US$78 billion in 2005 from US$45 billion in 2004 – a staggering 73% year-over-year increase.

In terms of market liquidity, the Asian exchanges of KOSDAQ and Mothers Market led the charge, recording 75% and 39% respectively for turnover of shares as a percentage of total market capitalization. For others, though, markets have been persistently illiquid. SESDAQ and Hong Kong's GEM both saw liquidity decline for the third year running.

Source: Grant Thornton's 2006 "Global new markets guide -- insight into international capital markets."

Nevertheless, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, one of the top 10 exchanges in the world in terms of market capitalization and funds raised, continues its prosperous growth. Market capitalization increased to US$1,260 billion in June 2006 from US $460 billion in January 2003.

Says Zastre: "China has enjoyed uninterrupted and phenomenal economic growth in the past few years. For the first six months of 2006, total funds raised on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange reached US$23bn, of which GEM accounted for US$828m. India too is enjoying the regional upswing and capitalization on the National Stock Exchange has increased a phenomenal 152% over two years to stand at US$667bn. Results in both countries are buoyed by substantial international interest and this looks set to continue throughout 2006."

For more information on the New Markets Guide, visit www.grantthornton.ca.