Five state-run Chinese giants to delist from US stock exchanges
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NEW YORK • Five of China's biggest state-owned companies, representing hundreds of billions of US dollars in market value, will delist from the New York Stock Exchange in the coming weeks, the firms said in filings on Friday.
Three of the world's biggest energy firms, PetroChina, Sinopec and Shanghai Petrochemical, separately said they would apply for a voluntary delisting of their American depositary shares.
Two other state-owned giants, insurer China Life and aluminium producer Chalco, also said they would stop offering their shares in the US, citing the administrative burden and costs related to maintaining the shares.
The companies' share prices fell in trading in New York on Friday, most by around 1 per cent.
Together, the firms have a combined market valuation of over US$300 billion (S$411 billion).
They made their announcements amid rising Sino-US tensions and greater scrutiny of US-listed Chinese firms since Congress passed legislation introducing stricter oversight of these firms in 2020.
US lawmakers have long complained that Chinese firms do not play by the same rules as other companies on the United States' stock exchanges.
Despite years of discussions, China and the US have failed to strike an agreement that would give US regulators access to fully inspect the audit papers of US-listed Chinese businesses.
A listing on Wall Street, with its deep investor base and liquid market, was once seen as a coveted position for China's biggest firms.
But Sino-US tensions have spilt over into nearly every aspect of the relationship between the two countries.
China's market regulator said the moves would not "jeopardise" fundraising activities by the five firms, adding that they can choose from multiple markets.
The companies will keep their listings in Hong Kong and mainland China.
All five companies were added to a list of Chinese firms that did not meet the auditing standards of US regulators, outlined in the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act that was passed in 2020.
Didi Chuxing, China's answer to Uber, was among the first Chinese firms to announce plans to delist from the New York Stock Exchange late last year, signalling the end of a multi-year, trillion-dollar love affair between China and Wall Street.
NYTIMES
