In short, they represent a tried and tested vehicle for investing in emerging market equities. In many cases, the ADRs and GDRs trade like proxies for the countries from which they hail. It is also not uncommon to find depositary receipts trading at premiums to the underlying local shares. In many cases, many of the region's corporates have not opted for a NYSE listing to go with their GDRs and the paper is tightly held. But remember Aspiring emerging markets investors have to be familiar not only with company specifics but also with country risks.
Liquidity is also a major consideration.
In recent crises, the lack of liquidity has magnified losses hugely. Links GlobalNetFinancial regularly covers emerging markets, with twice-weekly reports on individual countries and companies. To see these click Emerging Market Companies and Emerging Market Report . All three have archive links at the bottom of each page allowing the reader to retrieve past articles. For more information on ADRs try Bank of New York and JP Morgan .