New York Stock Exchange begins delisting 3 Chinese firms adhering to Trump's order

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) said in a statement that it has started the process of delisting three Chinese telecom companies in a bid to comply with the executive order of President Donald Trump barring investment in firms having associated to the Chinese military. While the US-China relations have continued to deteriorate over the recent months, the differences have panned out from trade to Washington’s stance on Hong Kong and Xinjiang. 

NYSE said in a statement that trading in China Mobile Communications, China Telecommunications Corp and China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited will completely end within the next week based on the transactions being settled. This came after Trump signed an executive order banning all Americans from investing in the companies associated with supplying or supporting the Chinese military and security.

The order had also listed 31 companies that according to the Trump administration, China was using for “exploitation”. Titled as “Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies”, US President’s order prohibits any transaction in publicly traded securities of any CCP company from January 11. In the statement, Trump had also said, the US finds China “is increasingly exploiting United States capital to resource and to enable the development and modernization of its military, intelligence, and other security apparatuses.”

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US: 70% Chinese firms have ties with its military

At least 70 per cent of Chinese companies with connections to the Chinese army have affiliates whose securities are included in major stock indices, said the United States State Department in a statement. Reportedly, it also said that such Chinese firms are involved in the civilian as well as the military production from the money by American investors. 

While US-China relations are currently at an all-time low, US State Department said in a fact report that the ‘threat’ by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to American national security has penetrated the financial markets impacting the investors. As of June 22, out of 31 firms that have connections to the Chinese military had nearly 68 significant affiliated companies with shares being included on major benchmarks.

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