Britain’s Shell is the second-largest company on London’s FTSE 100 index, representing 8.4% of its total market capitalization, while France’s TotalEnergies is the fourth-largest on the CAC 40 index, accounting for 6% of its value. Despite their local heavyweight status, both have recently expressed frustration with the low value of their stock compared with US oil majors, and floated the idea of moving the listing of their shares across the pond.
London languishes Still, the slightest hint that Shell may consider leaving London will have rattled the city’s beleaguered main stock exchange. Several companies have already quit the London Stock Exchange for other cities or chosen New York for going public in recent years. That includes British chipmaker Arm , which notched the biggest initial public offering of 2023 when it listed on New York’s Nasdaq in September.