in American (ADR) or Global (GDR) form are commonly used in global equity offerings to U.S. and non-U.S. investors. Depositary Receipts facilitate cross-border trading and settlement, minimize transaction costs and may broaden a non-U.S. company's potential investor base, particularly among institutional investors.

A Depositary Receipt is a negotiable certificate that usually represents a company's publicly traded equity or debt. Depositary Receipts are created when a broker purchases the company's shares on the home stock market and delivers those to the depositary's local custodian bank, which then instructs the depositary bank, such as The Bank of New York, to issue Depositary Receipts. Depositary Receipts may trade freely, just like any other security, either on an exchange or in the over-the-counter market and can be used to raise capital.