NYSE pulls plan to delist Chinese telecom giants

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) announced late Monday that it would not be moving forward with plans to delist three Chinese telecom companies with alleged ties to the nation’s military. 

The NYSE said in a brief statement that it had reversed its previous decision to delist the companies before Jan. 11 “in light of further consultation with relevant regulatory authorities,” though it gave no additional details. 

This comes less than a week after the stock exchange announced the planned delisting and suspension from trading for China Mobile Ltd., China Telecom Corp Ltd. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd.

The NYSE issued the plans in compliance with a November executive order from President Trump that prohibits U.S. investments in Chinese firms regulated by the military. The order is set to go into effect on Jan. 11. 

Trump argued in November that the executive order was necessary as the Chinese government seeks to influence “civilian Chinese companies to support its military and intelligence activities,” which he said presents an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the U.S. 

According to Bloomberg News, each of the three Chinese companies have separate listings in Hong Kong and have no significant presence in the U.S. outside of their listings.

The Chinese government has accused the Trump administration of using national security to improperly justify actions that limit competition, warning that Trump’s order would negatively impact the U.S. and other investors around the world. 

The Associated Press reported that Hong Kong-traded shares in the three companies rose Tuesday following news of the NYSE’s decision. China Telecom rose approximately 5.7 percent, China Mobile increased 5.5 percent and China Unicom surged 6.7 percent.