NYSE Group Will Visit China in Search of Some New Listings

The New York Stock Exchange expects to list between five and 10 Chinese companies in 1998, Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Grasso said.

China is “one of the most critical parts of the world in terms of developing the New York Stock Exchange’s international business,” Grasso told reporters at an exchange news conference.

Grasso is leading an NYSE delegation to China next week to drum up Chinese listings. The exchange now lists 17 companies based in mainland China and Hong Kong.

Grasso declined to name the Chinese companies he wants to list. About 1,000 Chinese companies may be privatized over the next decade and publicly traded, he said. “A large percentage of those we hope will be listing on the New York Stock Exchange.”

The world’s largest stock exchange traded 343 foreign companies at the end of 1997 and hopes to add about 100 this year, he said.