New York Stock Exchange to De-List Three Chinese Telecom Companies

The New York Stock Exchange announced Friday the upcoming withdrawal from the stock exchange of three Chinese telecoms companies, in accordance with a presidential decree prohibiting transactions in companies accused of being involved in the development of the Chinese military complex.

The three companies in question are China Mobile Communications, China Telecommunications Corp and China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited. They are also listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The securities of these groups have so far been traded in the United States in the form of “ADR”, American Depositary Shares, securities allocated to foreign companies wishing to access Wall Street.

The process of freezing transactions should be initiated between January 7 and 11, prelude to a withdrawal from the stock market, the NYSE said in a statement released Friday, “consequence” of the presidential decree of November 12.

In this decree signed by Donald Trump, the United States asserts that China “is increasing the size of its military-industrial complex by convincing Chinese civil societies to support its military activities and its intelligence”.

“At the same time, these companies are raising capital by selling shares to investors in the United States,” the decree continues, judging that “in this way, China is exploiting American investors to finance the development and modernization of its military complex ”.

As a result, it prohibits from the morning of January 11 “any transaction in securities listed on the stock exchange or in products which are derived from these securities, or have been designed to provide financial exposure to these securities”, when the product in question is linked to a society considered too close to the military.

The Trump administration and Beijing have for several years imposed a merciless battle on the economic and technological front, with punitive customs taxes and blacklists that have notably affected the telecoms giant Huawei and the ultra-popular TikTok application. .

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