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The United States also driving companies away from their home market. Sarbanes-Oxley Act, increased regulation and complexity have increased the cost of raising capital and the risk of non-compliance.

Offshore centres are attracting companies away from the United States. The London Stock Exchange has been very successful in growing its share of listed companies. The LSE’s :aim: has been at the forefront of this growth. This is a “junior” exchange with less compliance and reporting obligations. The levels of regulation and compliance in jurisdictions around the world has increased. This is causing a fundamental shift in where and how companies raise capital. This is highlighted by the following quote in the article Financial Markets get global, TCS Daily, 20th June 2006 .

“In the world of financial exchanges, the pace of globalization has been measured by the number of stock market listings that have been lost to overseas competitors in places like London and Hong Kong. As CNBC commentator Jim Cramer recently pointed out, 23 of the 24 firms recently looking to raise more than a billion dollars in capital chose to list overseas rather than in the U.S. For Chinese companies looking to raise billions of dollars from global investors, Hong Kong — not New York — is now the preferred venue. … U.S. financial markets are finally realizing that globalization can be an opportunity, and not just a threat. In this globalized world, the winners will be those that embrace financial innovation and create less onerous regulatory regimes for investors.”