Consolidation among the world’s major stock exchanges continued in 2011 with Deutsche Börse’s announced acquisition of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). If that merger goes through, it will be part of a trend that ultimately benefits listed companies: it is simpler to manage the reporting requirements for one exchange than for two or three.

Yet consolidation is also likely to intensify competition among the remaining exchanges, especially as technology whittles away their traditional points of distinction: promises of a more diverse equity base, cheaper access to capital, or enhanced liquidity. Companies consider three things when choosing a listing location—the actual out-of-pocket costs for establishing and maintaining the listing, the effects on valuation and liquidity, and the nonfinancial benefits. But for which of these—if any—is there a meaningful distinction between locations?

Listing in multiple locations gradually fell out of favor in the late 1990s, as companies came to question whether there were real differences among them in valuation and liquidity. Yet in recent years, a belief in these differences has revived: the argument most often heard is for listings in Hong Kong.