In a shocking reversal, the New York Stock Exchange said it no longer intends to delist three Chinese telecom companies that have been accused of having ties to China’s military.
The New York Stock Exchange, which had planned to delist the companies by January 11, said in a written statement that it was reversing course “in light of further consultation with relevant regulatory authorities.”
Hong Kong-traded shares in the state-backed firms, China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom Hong Kong, surged following the news. Hong Kong-listed shares in China Mobile closed 5% higher on Tuesday, China Telecom shares finished up 3% and China Unicom climbed more than 8% to a six-week high while the broader Hang Seng Index rose 0.6%.
Coming in the final weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency, the flip-flop has underscored the lack of clarity about the implementation of the U.S. ban on investment in 35 Chinese companies deemed to have military ties.
China’s foreign ministry has criticized what it calls the U.S. stretching of the concept of national security to suppress Chinese companies. It reiterated on Tuesday that the status of the United States as an international financial centre relies on the confidence that global companies and investors have in the certainty of its rules.