An investor looking at investing in foreign companies can do so in two ways: 1) Direct investing and 2) Depositary Receipts.

Direct Investing

This refers to buying and selling securities directly in the foreign markets. This method of investing has several disadvantages:

• All transactions will be in foreign company's currency.

• The investor must be familiar with the trading rules and regulations in the foreign market.

• The investor may not be able to conduct thorough analysis of securities if the foreign country's reporting requirements are less stringent.

Depository Receipts

Deposit receipts make investing in a company beyond the investor's home borders easy and convenient. A depositary receipt is a negotiable certificate that represents ownership in a foreign firm.

A bank, known as depositary, deposits the shares of a foreign company, and issues shares receipts representing those shares. These receipts are called depositary receipts.