OTC Markets Group Reports 2013 Trading Statistics and Highlights

NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of Open, Transparent and Connected financial marketplaces, today announced its trading statistics and highlights for 2013 as well as its plans for 2014.

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2013 Highlights:

• The total dollar volume of OTCQX®, OTCQB® and OTC Pink® securities increased 48% in 2013 to $201.2 billion.
• The total dollar volume of trading on the OTCQX marketplace, the best marketplace for qualified companies, increased 29% in 2013 to $29.5 billion, and represented 15% of the total dollar volume of trading in all marketplaces last year. The aggregate market capitalization of the 370 OTCQX companies as of December 31, 2013 was over $1.7 trillion, a 34% increase from the prior year.
• Achieved over 1,500 American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") trading on OTCQX, OTCQB and OTC Pink, an increase of more than 500% since 2003.
• OTC Markets Group continued to expand its distribution network, announcing agreements with MSN Money, SNL Financial, Seeking Alpha and tradeMONSTER™  to bring OTCQX, OTCQB and OTC Pink market data to a wider group of market participants.
• OTCQX and OTCQB were designated as "established public markets" by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
• OTC Markets Group made significant enhancements to its OTC Disclosure & News Service® by expanding its relationship with PR Newswire, integrating with Marketwired and adding company videos and investor presentations to www.otcmarkets.com.

Total Dollar Volume Increased 48% in 2013

The total number of securities trading on OTCQX, OTCQB and OTC Pink marketplaces as of December 31, 2013 was 10,011 in 2013, totaling $201.2 billion in dollar volume, a 48% increase in dollar volume from the prior year. 

Summary of 2013 Trading Statistics by Marketplace

During 2013, the total dollar volume of trading in OTCQX securities increased 29%, to $29.5 billion, representing 15% of total trading.  The average dollar volume per security on OTCQX was $78.7 million, 3.4 times the average dollar volume per security on OTCQB and 2.5 times the average dollar volume per security on OTC Pink Current Information, reflecting investors' preference for engaged and shareholder-friendly companies that make high quality financial information widely available.

As of December 31, 2013, the OTCQX marketplace had a total market capitalization of over $1.7 trillion.  New additions during 2013 included: Commercial International Bank Ltd. (OTCQX: CIBEY) with a $4.1 billion market capitalization[1], Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA (OTCQX: FSNUY) with a $27.8 billion market capitalization, Minerva S.A. (OTCQX: MRVSY) with a $0.6 billion market capitalization, OCI N.V. (OTCQX: OCINY) with a $9.3 billion market capitalization, Royal DSM NV (OTCQX: RDSMY) with a $14.3 billion market capitalization, TransForce Inc. (OTCQX: TFIFF) with a $2.2 billion market capitalization and Wacoal Holdings Corp. (OTCQX: WACLY) with a $1.5 billion market capitalization. 

Also during 2013, eight OTCQX companies graduated to the NYSE and NASDAQ stock exchanges, using OTCQX as a successful first step toward a U.S. exchange listing.  The companies included Altisource Asset Management Corp., American Eagle Energy Corp., B2Gold Corp., Empire Resources Inc., Energy Fuels Inc., LiqTech International Inc., Organovo Holdings Inc. and Tiptree Financial Inc..

Companies that provided current information on the OTCQX, OTCQB marketplaces and the OTC Pink Current marketplace tier represented $189.6 billion, or 94%, of the total dollar volume traded across all OTCM marketplaces in 2013.

Over 1,500 ADRs Trade on OTCQX, OTCQB and OTC Pink Marketplaces

The OTCM ADR Index (Bloomberg/Reuters: OTCDR; Thomson: DFCDR), powered by BNY Mellon Indices and comprised of more than 600 ADRs trading exclusively on the OTCQX, OTCQB and OTC Pink marketplaces, rose 18.7% in 2013.

In 2013, OTC Markets Group achieved over 1,500 ADRs trading on the OTCQX, OTCQB and OTC Pink marketplaces, a 500% increase in the past 10 years.  The over 1,500 ADRs trading on the OTCM marketplaces represent approximately 75% of the entire ADR market.  ADRs and foreign ordinaries are the largest asset class of OTCQX, OTCQB and OTC Pink securities, representing 63% of the total dollar volume on all marketplaces.

Continued Expansion of Market Data Distribution Network

OTC Markets Group continued to expand its distribution network in 2013, announcing agreements with MSN Money, SNL Financial, Seeking Alpha and tradeMONSTER^TM to bring real-time data on OTCQX, OTCQB and OTC Pink securities to a broader group of investors. 

OTC Markets Group made significant enhancements to its OTC Disclosure & News Service during 2013, making it easier for SEC and non-SEC reporting companies to distribute their news and information to investors and meet regulatory and disclosure requirements.  As of December 31, 2013, more than 1,000 companies are using the OTC Disclosure & News Service to publish news and financial reports; over 90% use the OTC Disclosure & News Service as their primary method of financial disclosure in the U.S.  Enhancements that were rolled-out during 2013 included:

• Expanded relationship with PR Newswire to offer international distribution to news and online media outlets in the U.K., Singapore and Canada, as well as streamlined filing for SEC reporting companies through PR Newswire's secure Edgar filings service, Vintage Filings
• Worked with Marketwired, a global newswire and social communications company, to integrate Marketwired's news distribution service with the OTC Disclosure & News Service
• Added videos and investor presentations to the OTC Disclosure & News Service, providing companies with additional investor relations tools.

OTCQX and OTCQB Established Public Markets Recognition

On May 16, the SEC updated its Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations to recognize the OTCQX and OTCQB marketplaces as "established public markets" for the purposes of establishing a public market price in equity line financings.  As a result, companies may use their OTCQX or OTCQB marketplace trading to establish a public market price for an equity line financing registration statement.

Plans for 2014

In 2014, OTC Markets Group plans to continue making its marketplaces better informed and more efficient.  

Beginning in the first quarter 2014, OTC Markets Group plans to streamline the OTCQX marketplace qualifications to better meet the needs of banks, SEC reporting and other U.S. companies.  "Banks and SEC reporting companies are among the most highly regulated entities trading on our marketplaces, so it makes sense to leverage their existing regulatory reporting requirements to provide them with an easier way to distinguish investor-focused banks and companies with established operations from the many development stage companies, shells and penny stocks trading on the OTCQB marketplace," said R. Cromwell Coulson, OTC Markets Group's President and CEO.

In addition, OTC Markets Group plans improvements to its OTCQB marketplace to make it a better venture stage marketplace with premium corporate services, company verification and management certifications to provide a higher quality information experience for investors.  For the first time, OTC Markets Group plans to make OTCQB available to venture-stage international companies that are listed on a qualified non-U.S. stock exchange and are current in their disclosure under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 12g3-2(b).  

Companies will receive notification about these changes in the coming months.    

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates Open, Transparent and Connected financial marketplaces for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through our OTC Link® ATS, we directly link a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services for a wide spectrum of securities. We organize these securities into marketplaces to better inform investors of opportunities and risks – OTCQX®, The Best Marketplace with Qualified Companies; OTCQB®, The Venture Stage Marketplace with U.S. Reporting Companies; and OTC Pink®, The Open Marketplace with Variable Reporting Companies. Our data-driven platform enables investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice at the best possible price and empowers a broad range of companies to improve the quality and availability of information for their investors. To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient financial marketplaces, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

OTC Link® ATS is operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC and SEC regulated ATS.

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[1] All market capitalizations are presented as approximate as of December 31, 2013.

SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc.