Despite the volatility of markets since the global financial crisis, companies have more choices than ever when deciding where to go to raise capital. One of the big trends in capital markets over the past decade has been the increasing willingness of companies to list outside their home country. This affords them an opportunity to expand into other markets, bolster their international reputation, tap new investors and take advantage of higher valuations and liquidity.

According to data published by Ernst & Young, cross-border deals accounted for 72% of the total funds raised on the top four exchanges – Hong Kong, London, New York Stock Exchange and National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) – in 2009.

The advent of the digital information age, providing investors with real-time data to track issuers and stock markets across the globe, has made it much easier to list abroad. Investors have become increasingly comfortable investing on a range of foreign exchanges and the exchanges themselves have revised their rules to facilitate listings by foreign issuers.

Another attraction has been the desire of international investors to capture the upside potential of the emerging markets, encouraging emerging markets companies to list on international exchanges. In the past 10 years, more than half of all cross-border initial public offerings (IPOs) on the top four exchanges have come from BRIC countries.

Accordingly, issuers are now sometimes faced with a difficult choice of where to list. They must weigh up several factors – including regulatory requirements, speed, investor base, valuations, post-listing obligations and cost. Since the downturn there have been some interesting trends, creating winners and losers among the exchanges. Overall, Asia is a bright spot. For instance, the Hong Kong Exchange raised more money through IPOs in 2009 than any other exchange in the world. One of the perceived benefits of a Hong Kong listing is it enhances brand image within the Chinese and wider Asian market.

But it has not all been plain sailing. When Hong Kong relaxed its eligibility rules for natural resources companies at the same time that European regulators were seen to be more strictly enforcing their own requirements, it was expected that there would be a surge of interest from Eastern Europe. But the subsequent difficulties faced by Rusal, which famously chose Hong Kong over London for its January 2010 listing, demonstrated that Hong Kong was not necessarily the easiest option.

There have been some surprising winners in other quarters, such as the Toronto Stock Exchange – which had recorded 105 new issues, of which 26 were international, by the end of July 2010. Toronto has benefited from investor appetite for natural resources companies to capitalise on emerging markets' demand for commodities.

Within Europe, the October 2010 IPO of Fortuna Entertainment Group has highlighted the potential of the Prague Stock Exchange as well as the continued importance of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Fortuna was the first transaction involving a concurrent public offering in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia with a dual listing on the Warsaw and Prague Stock Exchanges. It is the first Czech IPO since 2008 and is representative of the growing number of companies looking to list in Poland. Regulations under which Polish pension funds are obliged to invest in domestically-listed securities and the rise of a strong retail investor base have made it increasingly attractive.

Edward Bibko is a partner in Baker & McKenzie's London capital markets group.