Five U.S.-Listed Chinese Companies Seek to Delist From NYSE

By Clarence Leong

Five U.S.-listed Chinese companies said Friday that they intend to delist their American depositary shares from the New York Stock Exchange, as U.S. and Chinese regulators remain at loggerheads over audit requirements.

In separate filings to the Hong Kong stock exchange, China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (China), PetroChina Co., China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co. said they would apply for the voluntary delisting of their ADSs from the NYSE.

PetroChina cited the "considerable administrative burden for performing the disclosure obligations" necessary for maintaining its U.S. listing, while many companies noted the limited trading volume of their ADSs.

PetroChina said that as of Aug. 9, its outstanding ADSs represented about 3.93% of its total Hong Kong-listed shares and 0.45% of the total share capital of the company.

All five companies said they plan to file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to delist their securities within this month. The delisting of their ADSs from the NYSE is expected to become effective 10 days thereafter, they said.

More than 250 Chinese companies face mass delistings from the U.S. if the two countries can't reach a deal for U.S. regulators to inspect the audit papers of Chinese companies.

Write to Clarence Leong at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 12, 2022 06:11 ET (10:11 GMT)

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