Image Source : China Visual

BEIJING, August 12 (TMTPOST) -- Five Chinese state-owned companies, including two of the country"s largest oil producers, said Friday they would delist from the New York Stock Exchange against the backdrop of economic and diplomatic tensions between China and the United States.

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Sinopec and PetroChina — China"s most significant energy firms— said they would apply to delist their American Depository Shares later this month.

The Aluminum Corporation of China, also known as Chalco, and China Life Insurance and a Shanghai-based Sinopec subsidiary, announced similar decisions on Friday.

There was no mention of the auditing dispute in separate statements in the Chinese companies’ delisting plans. But tensions between Beijing and Washington were heightened after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi"s visit last week to Taiwan, which is part of China.

China has showed its strong opposition to Pelosi"s trip to Taiwan by conducting its largest-ever military exercises around the island and suspending cooperation with the United States on issues ranging from climate change to fighting drug smugglers.

The five companies, which in May were on a list of firms published by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that failed to meet its auditing standards, faced potential delisting from Wall Street. But they will keep their listings in Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets.

On December 2, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) passed a new revised version of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which requires the delisting of foreign companies from Wall Street exchanges if they cannot provide information to their auditors. This could prevent some Chinese companies from listing in the United States. It said 273 companies were at risk, including some of China"s most prominent companies, such as Alibaba Group Holdings, JD.Com Inc and Baidu Inc.

All five China state-owned companies each said that they expected to stop trading on the NYSE by early September.

On Friday, China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) noted that the companies" moves were made "out of their business considerations.” Both listing and delisting are normal in the capital market. These enterprises listed in the United States have strictly complied with the rules of the U.S. capital market and regulatory requirements.

The delistings "will not affect the companies" continued use of domestic and foreign capital markets for financing and development”, the regulator said in a statement.