Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, yesterday issued a robust defence of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation saying it was "important to keep in mind" that many of its elements had been adopted by other regulators overseas.

"I would like to highlight a little noticed fact: while competitors in other countries are using Sarbanes-Oxley as a reason for foreign companies to list in the jurisdictions, many of those same countries are adopting provisions of the act as part of their own regulatory regime."

The Sarbanes-Oxley legislation has stirred controversy in the US, with many in the business and financial community blaming its more onerous compliance requirements for forcing foreign company listings to go abroad to London and Hong Kong.

As examples Mr Cox cited the establishment of independent auditor watchdogs like the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which oversees US auditors. He also pointed out the fact that the EU had recently adopted a directive requiring all member-states to create an auditor oversight body.