In a dramatic turn of events, the New York Stock Exchange has decided to not proceed with any procedures related to the delisting of 3 major Chinese telecom companies which it had considered post an executive order by American President Mr. Donald Trump.
In its statement to the media, NYSE stated that it will no longer work on the delisting procedures of China Telecom Corporation Ltd, China Mobile Ltd and China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd after carryout out “further consultation with relevant regulatory authorities.”
Without providing any clarification on the U-turn, the world’s leading stock exchange stated that “At this time, the Issuers will continue to be listed and traded on the NYSE. NYSE Regulation will continue to evaluate the applicability of Executive Order 13959 to these Issuers and their continued listing status.”
Earlier in November, the Donald Trump administration had released an executive order to restrict American firms from investing in China-based companies that are regarded to be owned or controlled by the Chinese military.
In its statement, the US Government remarked that “China is increasingly exploiting United States capital to resource and to enable the development and modernization of its military, intelligence, and modernization of its military, intelligence, and other security apparatuses.”
Responding to the order Chinese counterparts accused the U.S. of “viciously slandering” the companies, and had threatened to retaliate.
Listed on the NYSE since its $4.2 billion IPO in 1997, China Mobile is China’s largest telecom company with a market cap of about $116 billion. China Unicom, on the other hand, was listed on the stock exchange in 2000 and has a market cap of about $18 billion.
The latest NYSE entrant, China Telecom was listed on the platform in 2002 and has a market cap of about $22.5 billion.
