Ticker Symbol - International

International

Stock symbols are indispensable for stock market work in non-European countries. In countries where Arabic script is used, and in East Asia, transliterated Latin-script versions of company names may be confusing to an unpracticed Western reader; stock symbols provide a simple means of clear communication in the workplace. Many Asian countries use numerical or alphanumerical ticker symbols instead of characters to facilitate international trade.

• Industrial and Commercial Bank of China – 01398
• HSBC – 00005
• DBS Bank – D05
• Jardine C&C – C07
• TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK – 5012
• Toshiba Corp – 6502
• China CITIC Bank Corp Ltd – 601998
• Hubei Golden Ring Co Ltd – 000615
• ASUSTEK – 2357
• Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd – 2412

The most prevalent standard used for international trade is the International Securities Identifying Number (ISIN). An ISIN uniquely identifies a security. Its structure is defined in ISO 6166. Securities for which ISINs are issued include bonds, commercial paper, equities and warrants. The ISIN code is a 12-character alpha-numerical code that does not contain information characterizing financial instruments but serves for uniform identification of a security at trading and settlement.

Securities with which ISINs can be used include debt securities, shares, options, derivatives and futures. The ISIN identifies the security, not the exchange (if any) on which it trades; it is not a ticker symbol. For instance, Daimler AG stock trades on twenty-two different stock exchanges worldwide, and is priced in five different currencies; it has the same ISIN on each, though not the same ticker symbol. ISIN cannot specify a particular trade in this case, and another identifier, typically the three-letter exchange code, will have to be specified in addition to the ISIN. The SEDOL board of the London Stock Exchange is currently revising their own standards to address this issue.