Global tech companies wanting to go public continue to
list in the U.S. rather than Europe because of its growth opportunities,
Adam Kostyál, head of European listings at Nasdaq, said on Tuesday.
Speaking to CNBC at the Web Summit tech conference in Dublin, Kostyál said that although initial public offerings (IPOs) in traditional sectors had fared well in Europe, growth sectors – such as tech and health care – generally performed better in the States.
This was for a number of reasons, he argued, including the depth of the equity market.
"(Also) many of the sectors that are moving to the U.S. are looking for the right analyst base, investor base and the growth opportunities that the U.S. has in
front of it," Kostyál said. "So from that perspective, the U.S. is better potentially at valuing growth than what Europe is."
Speaking to CNBC at the Web Summit tech conference in Dublin, Kostyál said that although initial public offerings (IPOs) in traditional sectors had fared well in Europe, growth sectors – such as tech and health care – generally performed better in the States.
This was for a number of reasons, he argued, including the depth of the equity market.
"(Also) many of the sectors that are moving to the U.S. are looking for the right analyst base, investor base and the growth opportunities that the U.S. has in
front of it," Kostyál said. "So from that perspective, the U.S. is better potentially at valuing growth than what Europe is."
He added: "If you look at the traditional sectors they've
done fairly well in Europe, but for the growth sectors, that's where the
U.S. is really dominating."
The comments come as investors anxiously await earnings from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which floated in the biggest IPO of all time in September. Shares in the company have shot up 45 percent since their debut in New York.
Read MoreAlibaba earnings: 45% the magic number?
The closely-watched listing followed a slow-down in IPOs since the onset of the global financial crisis, but Kostyál insisted that things were turning around.
"If you look at the pipeline and the demand that we see in the market, I think we'll see more IPOs come to market and we will see potentially an interesting 2015," he said.
Not everyone is convinced that the upward trajectory is set to continue, however, with some analysts warning the Alibaba IPO could have signaled a market top.
"History tells you that big deals tend to come during market tops," said Nick Colas, chief market strategist at ConvergEx, said earlier this month. "Typically speaking, you need to see peak levels of investor interest in order to get big deals done."
Read MoreHow Alibaba IPO may have signaled a market top
This year has been the strongest listing year at the Nasdaq since 2000, with 160 so far over the year to date. These include some high-profile tech IPOs, including that of wearable camera maker GoPro and financial information company Markit – this year's largest European tech IPO in the States.
And it doesn't show any sign of slowing down, according to Kostyál, who said there was no reason why another company the size of Alibaba couldn't come to market in the near future.
"There are all the ingredients for that to happen, and it's fantastic to see many of these entrepreneurial companies come to the market because for a long time the IPO market was shut," he added.
The comments come as investors anxiously await earnings from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which floated in the biggest IPO of all time in September. Shares in the company have shot up 45 percent since their debut in New York.
Read MoreAlibaba earnings: 45% the magic number?
The closely-watched listing followed a slow-down in IPOs since the onset of the global financial crisis, but Kostyál insisted that things were turning around.
"If you look at the pipeline and the demand that we see in the market, I think we'll see more IPOs come to market and we will see potentially an interesting 2015," he said.
Not everyone is convinced that the upward trajectory is set to continue, however, with some analysts warning the Alibaba IPO could have signaled a market top.
"History tells you that big deals tend to come during market tops," said Nick Colas, chief market strategist at ConvergEx, said earlier this month. "Typically speaking, you need to see peak levels of investor interest in order to get big deals done."
Read MoreHow Alibaba IPO may have signaled a market top
This year has been the strongest listing year at the Nasdaq since 2000, with 160 so far over the year to date. These include some high-profile tech IPOs, including that of wearable camera maker GoPro and financial information company Markit – this year's largest European tech IPO in the States.
And it doesn't show any sign of slowing down, according to Kostyál, who said there was no reason why another company the size of Alibaba couldn't come to market in the near future.
"There are all the ingredients for that to happen, and it's fantastic to see many of these entrepreneurial companies come to the market because for a long time the IPO market was shut," he added.
- By CNBC's Katrina Bishop in Dublin
Katrina BishopDeputy News Editor, CNBC.com
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