ADR = American Depositary Receipt

ADR are share certificates and deposit certificates issues, traded and denominated in USD by US custodian banks derived from shares in non-US companies deposited with them. They make trading in non-US companies simpler, cheaper and quicker. For companies not domiciled in the US, ADR have the advantage that the company does not need to undergo the full admission procedures of the US SEC in order to obtain a stock market listing.