The Nasdaq Stock Market has appointed new management in Asia, seeking to boost listings by companies in China and elsewhere in the region.

Eric D. Landheer was made Head of Asia Pacific, based in London, the exchange said in a statement late on Tuesday. He was previously managing director for new listings at Nasdaq.

Guang Xun Xu becomes the company's co-chief representative in China, based in the country. Xu was previously a consultant in China and Nasdaq's managing director for Asia between 1994 and 2004.

Nasdaq currently has 38 companies from China with a market capitalization of about $30 billion listed on its exchange.

Five Chinese firms listed there last year, raising a combined $534 million, according to market data firm Dealogic, down from seven companies raising $803 million in 2005.

This year is off to a strong start as three companies, including media and advertising firm Xinhua Finance Media Ltd. and solar cell maker JA Solar Holdings Co., have already raised $694 million on Nasdaq.

But the exchange, and similar international markets such as the Growth Enterprise Board in Hong Kong, faces growing competition in attracting Chinese companies, as China accelerates its effort to build its own Nasdaq-style second board in Shenzhen.

More than 50 companies floated shares on the Small and Medium Enterprises Board (SME) of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange from June to December last year, after China lifted a ban on initial public offers in May 2006.

Beijing aims to transform the SME into a Nasdaq-style second board as early as this year. Authorities are encouraging companies to list domestically instead of overseas, in order to absorb domestic liquidity and curb inflows of funds into China.

More than 120 Chinese companies are now listed on the SME, and at the current pace the number could exceed 200 by the end of this year.

Nasdaq is the largest U.S. electronic equities exchange, with approximately 3,200 companies listed.