Photographer: Michael Nagle / Bloomberg
Photographer: Michael Nagle / Bloomberg
The New York Stock Exchange said it would no longer eliminate China’s three largest state-owned telecommunications companies, following a plan that had threatened to escalate tensions between the world’s largest economies.
NYSE’s U Tower came just four days after the stock market said it would eliminate shares in China Mobile Ltd., China Telecom Corp. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. to comply with a US executive order. The NYSE cited “consultation with relevant regulators” in a brief statement late Monday announcing the reversal.
Actions of Chinese mobile, China Telecom and Unicom has gathered at the latest development, growing by more than 6% in Hong Kong trading. Calls and emails to companies were not returned immediately on Tuesday.
On New Year’s Eve, the NYSE said it would eliminate companies to comply with a November order by US President Donald Trump, which bans US investment in Chinese companies owned or controlled by the military. It was the first time an American stock market had announced plans to remove a Chinese company as a direct result of rising geopolitical tensions between the two superpowers.
The delisting move has raised concerns about mandatory sanctions for Chinese and American companies. The former have turned to the US stock market for capital and international prestige for more than two decades, raising at least $ 144 billion from some of the world’s largest investors. Wall Street banks are particularly keen to see a drop in tensions after gaining unprecedented scope to operate in China last year.
(Background updates)