JPMorgan said that it had served as the depositary bank for the Eletrobras OTC American depositary receipt (ADR) program, and has now been mandated as the depositary for the company’s level two New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing.
William Kirst, depositary receipts executive for Latin America at JP Morgan, said: “We are pleased to continue our relationship with Eletrobras as we launch their ADR program on the NYSE. By upgrading their program to a NYSE listing, Eletrobras will now have more visibility to investors, while at the same time showcasing the transparency that an NYSE listing demonstrates.”
J.P. Morgan has been the depositary bank for all of the Latin American listings on the NYSE in 2008: Eletrobrás (Brazil), Ecopetrol S.A. (Colombia), and Telmex Internacional (Mexico).
It launched the first DR in Latin America in 1960 (Teléfonos de México) and serves as depositary for a number of prominent DR programs in Latin America, including Banco Santander – Chile, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce.
In 2007, the firm launched a global depositary shares (GDS) program for Grupo Clarín S.A., the first Argentine company to have a DR listing on the London Stock Exchange. That year it also launched a global depositary receipt (GDR) program for Almacenes Exito S.A., the first primary offering of equity securities by a Colombian company outside of the home market in over 10 years.
