OTCQX Chosen by Volkswagen for Trading of its Equities in U.S.

This May, Volkswagen AG of Germany began trading its common and preferred stock on the OTCQX market. The ticker symbols are: VLKAY for Volkswagen’s common stock and VLKPY for its preferred stock. In Volkswagen’s case the actual securities traded are ADRs (American Depository Receipts), each of which represent 1/5th of a share of the underlying stock.

The OTCQX is the most prestigious market tier operated by OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX:OTCM). The OTC Markets Group claims to be “the world’s largest OTC marketplace for equity securities.” The securities traded in this marketplace are divided into three main “tiers” to give investors an idea of the reporting and compliance requirements a company must meet and also an idea of the risk level. OTCQX is the premier tier, OTCQB is called “The Venture Marketplace”, and the OTC Pink tier has the lowest requirements of the OTC Markets Group’s tiers.

For more information on the OTC Markets Group, you can visit their website here.

Volkswagen of course is one of the biggest and best-known carmakers in the world, and the largest carmaker in Europe. In addition to Volkswagen, its brands include Bentley, Audi, Bugatti, and Lamborghini.

Volkswagen’s primary stock exchange is the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany. But its equity is also traded in prestigious stock markets in Switzerland, the U.K., and Luxembourg.

Being chosen by a company such as Volkswagen as “the” market in the U.S. for trading its equity is certainly a vote of confidence for OTC Market Group’s operations.

OTC (Over the Counter) markets in the U.S. are often avoided by many investors who view them as somewhat disreputable or dangerous places. But the presence of major international corporations such as Volkswagen, along with Yamaha Corporation (OTCQX:YAMCY) and Deutsche Lufthansa AG (OTCQX:DLAKY) would appear to contradict this idea, at least as a blanket statement..