SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. expects as many as 20 Chinese companies to list their shares this year, the head of its Asian business said Friday.

The second-largest U.S. board by capitalization is one of many vying for a slice of secondary overseas listings and initial public offerings of Chinese firms, with competition from the Hong Kong market, the London Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and the Singapore Exchange.

"The pipeline is quite robust. There could be as many as 20 (Chinese listings on Nasdaq) this year," Stuart Patterson, a senior managing director at Nasdaq, told reporters.

"At the moment, China is the hottest region," he said, adding that 18 Chinese companies had listed their stocks on the Nasdaq stock market, whose fiercest domestic rival is the NYSE.

Patterson said he expected six listings from Australia this year and about five Indian firms putting their stocks on the New York-based exchange.

He said Nasdaq enjoys a competitive edge over London because the more stringent regulatory environment in the United States eventually pays off.

Some Chinese firms have problems adhering to a rule that is part of Sarbanes-Oxley, the rules enacted in 2002 in the wake of the Enron fiasco, which stipulate they identify, quantify and disclose all risks.

"The competitive scene is certainly heating up. London are promoting the friendlier legal environment as an incentive."

"But if you apply U.S. listing standards, then you actually get a premium in your valuation. There's an implied risk discount when you go to other market centers."

Patterson said Nasdaq has won a client, due to list its shares in New York shortly, "because they felt they could get at least a 20 percent higher valuation."

"The cost of listing may be more from a compliance standpoint, but the payback is in the valuation."

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