Nasdaq: We're top choice for tech IPOs despite Alibaba rebuff

Chinese e-commerce giant chose the New York Stock Exchange for its listing last month instead of Nasdaq

Nasdaq is still the top choice for tech firms looking to list on the stock market, according to one of the top bosses at the US exchange, despite losing out to its bitter rival for the world record Alibaba flotation.

Jack Ma’s Chinese e-commerce giant chose the New York Stock Exchange for its listing last month instead of Nasdaq, which has traditionally been chosen by tech companies.

But Hans-Ole Jochumsen, president of global trading and market services at Nasdaq, told The Independent it was “definitely” still the premier location for tech firms.

“You can’t win them all,” he said. “We have won 140 [flotations this year] in the US, and the other listing venue hasn’t passed 100 yet.”

He added: “If you look at some of the companies listed — Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft — they are at Nasdaq and they are some of the most valuable companies in the world.”

One of the reasons behind Alibaba choosing the NYSE instead of Nasdaq is believed to be the huge glitches that hit Facebook’s 2012 flotation which resulted in Nasdaq being handed a $10 million fine and promising to pay up to $62 million in compensation.

Jochumsen said Nasdaq had recovered from the botched float, pointing to how, having initially slumped, Facebook’s shares are now trading at more than double the listing price.

He added that consolidation in the stock exchange industry is not over after a run of huge takeovers in the sector over the past decade or so. “If you look at it, the number of players in Europe is not that much reduced,” he said.