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- The New York Stock Exchange will delist three major Chinese telecoms after some back and forth discussion with the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
- China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom will now officially be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange as of 9:30 AM ET January 11th, 2021.
- Chinese authorities and the China Securities Regulatory Commission have denounced the move by President Trump and the NYSE.
- Investors have been whiplashed by the decision as well. All three Chinese telecom stocks are down on Wednesday after a strong showing on Tuesday.
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The New York Stock Exchange reversed course again on Wednesday, saying it will now delist three major Chinese telecoms hit by President Trump’s executive order.
China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom will now officially be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on January 11, 2021.
This comes after new specific guidance from the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control came through on Tuesday:
“Pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 13959, U.S. persons cannot engage in certain transactions (as specified in the E.O.) in the ADRs of China Telecom Corporation Limited, China Mobile Limited, and China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited after 9:30 a.m. eastern time on January 11, 2021.”
The Chinese telecom delisting saga started back in November 2020, when President Trump signed executive order 13959 which restricts American companies or individuals from owning shares in 31 Chinese companies with links to the Chinese military.
After that, the NYSE announced it would comply with the executive order and delist the telecoms on New Year's Eve. Then, the exchange decided to scrap plans to delist late on Monday, "in light of further consultation with relevant regulatory authorities."
On Wednesday however, the telecom giants are set to be delisted yet again, and the Chinese government is none too pleased.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission issued a statement on Sunday saying, "the executive order, which is based on political purposes, have entirely ignored the actual situations of relevant companies and the legitimate rights of the global investors, and severely damaged market rule and order."
They continued, "the role of the U.S. as an international financial center, is built on the trust of the global enterprises and investors in the inclusiveness and certainty of its rules and institutions. The recent move by some political forces in the U.S. to continuously and groundlessly suppress foreign companies listed on the U.S. markets, even at the cost of undermining its own position in the global capital markets, has demonstrated that U.S. rules and institutions can become arbitrary, reckless and unpredictable."
This comes after China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, said last Saturday that Trump's economic policies are an "attempt to suppress China and start a new Cold War."
According to Dan David, founder of Wolfpack Research, a short-interest investment research firm, the NYSE is trapped between a rock and hard place. David said in a statement, "the NYSE is trying to judge how the political winds are blowing, and it's a pretty confusing situation right now," per the Wall Street Journal.
The back and forth has caused some serious confusion for investors as well, bringing volatility to the once stable Chinese telecom ADRs.
China Mobile shares have fallen over 5% on Wednesday, while China Telecom and China Unicom shares are down over 4% and 2%, respectively.