The International Attributes and Return Performance of Newly-Listed American Depositary Receipts‪.‬

American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) have recently experienced a notable increase in significance in terms of their visibility in U.S. financial markets and their overall role in international finance. This study investigates the investment return performance of newly created ADRs listed on U.S. markets in the period immediately following their introduction. Variation in return performance between different categories of listed ADRs is marked. Those associated with worldwide IPOs have impressive first day Abnormal Returns, and an average Cumulative Abnormal Return (CAR) of 25.62% over the first 100 trading days. This pattern is particularly notable for ADRs associated with privatizations, which have first day Abnormal Returns of 21.93% and an average CAR over the first 100 days of 43.43%. Some ADR listings are IPOs for U.S. markets, but have previously traded abroad and thus have elements of being Seasoned Equity Offerings. These post smaller first day gains, but have a 100-day average CAR of 12.81%. In contrast to the above categories, ADR listings not associated with the raising of new capital have minimal Abnormal Returns. I. INTRODUCTION