delisting – COOPER GENERAL NEWS

A woman adjusts a Chinese flag near US flags.

Ng Han Guan | AFP | Getty Images

We’ll have to see if the Chinese government will retaliate against the US. But I think the actual things to be done won’t matter …

Ronald Wan

non-executive chairman at Partners Financial Holdings

When asked if more Chinese companies could be delisted, Brendan Ahern, chief investment officer of the investment firm KraneShares, said: “I don’t see any expansion of these three specific names just because it was really driven by this executive order.”

Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia on Monday, he said the order could “reverse course” after President-elect Joe Biden was sworn in on Jan. 20.

He added that on the Chinese side, Beijing “wants the Biden government to really start the relationship over.”

Ronald Wan, non-executive chairman of Partners Financial Holdings, added that the measures Beijing is taking are unlikely to be “significant”.

“We’ll have to see if the Chinese government will retaliate against the US. But I think the actual actions won’t matter, which may restrict some type of US government-affiliated company, activity in China or Hong Kong. But I think the government is still welcoming US capital and funds to get into the Asian and Hong Kong markets, “he told CNBC’s Street Signs Asia on Monday.

Ahern said investors in the three US-listed stocks – China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom – will be able to convert them into their Hong Kong-listed stocks.

Flags of the United States and China are displayed on the booth of the American International Chamber of Commerce (AICC) during the International Trade Fair for Services in Beijing, China on May 28, 2019.

Jason Lee | Reuters

China on Saturday promised to respond to the New York Stock Exchange’s delisting of three telecommunications giants under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in November.

The Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that China “will take the necessary measures to vigorously protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” according to the state-run Global Times.

The NYSE announced Thursday that it had acquired China Telecom Corp. Limited, China Mobile Limited and China Unicom Hong Kong Limited will delist. Trump signed an order in November preventing Americans from investing in companies alleged to be affiliated with the Chinese military.

The investment ban goes into effect on January 11, just days before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated. According to the NYSE, trading with the three companies may stop as early as Jan 7th or Jan 11th.

The Commerce Department said the US is “abusing national security and using state power to crack down on Chinese companies” and that the move “is inconsistent with market rules and logic, which not only harms the legitimate rights of Chinese companies,” but also the interests of investors in other countries, including the US. “

It added, “We hope that the US and China will work together to create a fair, stable and predictable business environment for companies and investors, so that bilateral economic and trade relations can re-emerge.”

Trump has pursued an aggressive economic agenda against China that has become even more restrictive since the emergence of Covid-19, which Trump derogatoryly called the “China virus” in Wuhan.

Biden is not expected to change US-China relations dramatically, and he said Monday he would “hold China’s government accountable for its abuses in trade, technology, human rights and other areas.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on China’s statement on Saturday. The Biden transition team also did not respond to a request for comment.

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