global depositary receipt

A negotiable certificate that shows ownership of a company’s shares. GDRs let companies offer shares in markets throughout the world, and they let investors purchase an equity stake in foreign companies without having to use the company’s home exchange. That saves the investor the time, difficulty, and cost of trading shares on a foreign exchange. GDRs convert dividends and share price into the investor’s home currency. Often companies in emerging markets such as China and South Korea issue GDRs. A GDR is similar to an ADR, which represents ownership of foreign companies that trade on U.S. exchanges.