China scrutinises firms allowed to be listed in the US

Analysts believe China has begun a process of deciding which companies should be allowed to remain listed in the US. Analysts said the voluntary delisting of five state-owned enterprises from the New York Stock Exchange could pave the way for further exits. More SOEs are expected to follow the oil giants Sinopec, its entity Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical and PetroChina, China Life Insurance and Aluminium Corporation of China, particularly those with a dual listing in Hong Kong or mainland China whose American depositary receipts (ADRs) only form a small part of their total share capital. Kenny Ng Lai-yin, a strategist at Everbright Securities International, said that their decision to apply for delisting at the same time reflects Beijing’s “preference” that companies facing higher scrutiny over accounting practices remove themselves from American exchanges.