The increased complexity of accounting rules brought out under the notorious Sarbanes-Oxley Act is driving foreign companies away from listing in the US, Marshall Carter, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, has warned.

Speaking before the House of Representatives capital markets sub-committee, Marshall said: ‘Despite a welcome resurgence in global equity financing, the United States is losing the competition for these new listings.’

As a result of the rigours of Sarbox, foreign companies were choosing other exchanges for IPOs, Marshall said.

Pressure is growing from US business circles to dilute some of the more stringent governance reforms put in place under Sarbox, brought in swiftly after the demise of Enron and WorldCom.

Only one of the 24 largest IPOs last year took place in the US, figures from Ernst & Young showed.