From the South China Morning Post, April 11:
A total of 286 Chinese firms are listed in the US with a total market capitalisation of US$1.1 trillion
Hong Kong is likely to benefit from the delisting of mainland Chinese firms from American exchanges should the US follow up on its threat to eject them, according to bankers and analysts.
“These companies may consider a secondary listing or a dual-primary listing in Hong Kong to raise funds, which will boost the initial public offering (IPO) market,” said Tom Chan Pak-lam, honorary president of the Institute of Securities Dealers, an industry body for stockbrokers.
A total of 286 Chinese companies were listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and NYSE American with a combined market capitalisation of US$1.1 trillion at the end of March, according to data from these exchanges.
Since January 2024, 48 mainland firms have listed on the three US bourses, raising a combined US$2.1 billion, including self-driving car firm Pony.ai and Geely’s EV unit Zeekr.
Their fate remains uncertain after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to rule out the possibility that Washington might delist Chinese stocks from US exchanges.
“I think everything’s on the table,” Bessent said during an interview on the Fox Business Network on Wednesday. “That will be President [Donald] Trump’s decision.”
Chan said that when these companies faced a delisting threat following the introduction of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA) in December 2020, a wave of US-listed mainland companies such as the Post’s owner Alibaba Group Holding, NetEase and JD.com all opted for secondary listing or dual-primary listing in Hong Kong.
“History is likely to repeat itself again,” he said.
The HFCAA requires auditors of US-listed foreign companies to comply with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (PCAOB) audit inspection rules or face delisting after three consecutive years of non-compliance. The threat was lifted in 2022 when an agreement was reached between US and Chinese regulators to allow the PCAOB to conduct audit inspections in Hong Kong.
“It is legally and technically possible for the US to delist US-listed Chinese corporates,” said Zerlina Zeng, a senior credit analyst at CreditSights, a Singapore-based credit research firm....
....MUCH MORE
If interested see also:
November 2019 - Hong Kong’s Demise
September 2020 - "Special report: Is Hong Kong’s status as Asia’s financial capital in danger?"
October 2022 - Hong Kong: "Where Have the Traders Gone? A $4 Trillion Market Is Stuck in a Rut"
March 2024 - "Once High-Flying Bankers in Hong Kong Become a Lost Generation"
December 2024 - "In Memory of Hong Kong"
