Tuesday, October 16, 2007

AIM's Green Base Gives London Advantage Over Nasdaq

I had meant to post this last week and got distracted, what else is new.
From The Telegraph:

Aim proclaims on its website that it is "the most successful growth market in the world, powering the companies of tomorrow". So it is no surprise that it is also the leading exchange for renewable energy stocks, boasting 108 companies working in everything from recycling, fuel cells, carbon credit trading and electric vehicle companies.

Many of those companies cite the green savvy investor base in Europe as one of their reasons for choosing an Aim listing over US exchange Nasdaq, typically the home for technology companies.

Andrew Stone, senior analyst in utilities and alternative energy at fund manager Tufton Oceanic, says: "The other reason given by companies is the onerous amount of regulation and reporting that is required by US regulators these days. Early-stage companies like to keep the costs down but equally they are finding that European investors have been more receptive in recent years.

"There are signs that the US investor base is becoming more receptive to renewable energy over the last year," he adds. "The investor base is warming up both sides of the Atlantic."

For the meantime, however, Aim's main rival to attract these stocks is Frankfurt, where a number of larger green companies choose to list....MORE