BM&FBOVESPA: Trading Starts In Coca-Cola, Nike, Mastercard And Seven Other Foreign Companies In Brazil - Trading Of These Foreign Companies On The Exchange Possible After Itaú Unibanco Issued Unsponsored Level I Brazilian Depositary Receipts (BDRs)

As of Monday (July 25) there can be trading on BM&FBOVESPA in Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Nike, Mastercard, online shopping company Amazon, Caterpillar, Chevron Corporation, Monsanto, Oracle and Schulumberger Limited.

To allow trading in these foreign companies on the Exchange, Itaú Unibanco has issued Unsponsored Level I Brazilian Depositary Receipts (BDRs).  Direct investment in these companies shall be restricted to large investors with capital enough to invest over BRL 1 million. Others who wish to invest, meanwhile, can seek investment funds that include these instruments in their portfolios. 

What are BDRs?

The Unsponsored Level I BDR is a certificate representing stock issued by a foreign-headquartered publicly traded company. It is thus considered a foreign investment from Brazil.  The issue and registry of Unsponsored Level I BDRs is the responsibility of a depositary institution in Brazil in which none of the companies represented has a stake.