The German chemical firm Altana took their leave of the New York Stock Exchange last Friday and German carbon fiber component manufacturer SGL Carbon announced it will be leaving the NYSE on Monday, saying their listing there, which the company has had since 1996, is unprofitable.

The two German companies have been joined by the likes of British Airways, French dairy products manufacturer Danone and Swiss-based Adecco, a temporary employment company, which recently announced its decision to forgo a listing in the United States.

Adecco spokesman Axel Schafmeister, however, said the move from the New York exchange is not an indication of falling interest among investors in the United States.

No need to be in Big Apple

"Interest among US investors hasn't shrunk -- quite the opposite: It's growing," he said, adding that 25 percent of trading is through US investors. "But the volume traded through New York has shrunk. US investors don't necessarily need to trade through New York. They buy in London, Paris or Zurich."

The foreign companies' decision to leave Wall Street could be the result of a globalized capital market in which the location of a company's headquarters becomes less important, according to Nancy McLernon of the Washington-based Organization for International Investment.

"The US is coming to a determination that things aren't going to just come here," she said. "There's a lot of heavy competition for global business and the US has to create an environment that the companies feel they're in a non-discriminatory business environment."

Diminishing financial influence

Direct foreign investment in the United States was at $173 billion (129 billion euros) in 2006, which was more than 2005 but considerably less than the $314 billion pumped into the US in 2000. The US market share of financial services has also dropped from 62 percent in 2001 to 52 percent last year, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

The companies are also often eager to avoid the extra costs in lawyers and auditors that accompany the American regulatory framework.

"I think that some companies have learned that the cost does not outweigh the benefit of listing in the US," McLernon said. "The ability of US investors to access foreign companies no matter where they're listed, I think, has ended up allowing some of these companies to do so."

The exodus of foreign firms has some in New York and Washington concerned. The US Department of Commerce has launched an "Invest in America" initiative to spur foreign investment.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg hired the McKinsey consulting firm to look at whether New York City was economically competitive and Senator Charles Schumer lobbied to have some of the regulations relaxed.

"In 10 years if we don't do anything, we will be a leading financial center but not the financial capital of the world," Bloomberg said.