Several Chinese-Owned Companies To Delist From New York Stock Exchange

Facts

• Several state-owned Chinese companies have announced their intention to delist their stocks from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
• Petrochina, Aluminium Corp of China, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, China Life Insurance, and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical have all stated they would submit delisting applications later this month.
• The companies provided similarly worded statements within 30 minutes of each other. Their shares will reportedly still be traded in Hong Kong which is open to non-Chinese investors.
• While China's securities regulator stated that listings and delistings are "common in capital markets" and that the decisions were "made out of business considerations," some speculate that the move is likely due to China being unwilling to give the US access to sensitive data.
• The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act - signed into law in December 2020 - requires overseas securities listed in the US to divulge any government involvement and disclose financial auditing practices.
• All of the companies who announced their intention to delist are included on the Securities and Exchange Commission's list of violators of the act.

Sources: Forbes, Business Insider, Al Jazeera, fortune, and sec.

Narratives

• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global Times. The decades-long dispute of auditing US-listed Chinese companies is finally coming to a head. As the US intensifies its crackdowns and refuses to compromise, the threat of hundreds of Chinese companies delisting from NYSE will grow larger and will be a blow to the US's global influence in the finance sector.
• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Nasdaq. Chinese companies want to take advantage of the trading privileges that come with the US stock exchange, but without respecting US listing regulations. The voluntary delisting of companies that won't comply and that would otherwise be forcibly delisted beginning in 2024, could actually prove to be beneficial.