Five China state-owned companies to delist from US exchanges amid audit scrutiny

Five US-listed Chinese state-owned companies whose audits are under scrutiny by the US securities regulator said that they would voluntarily delist from the New York Stock Exchange. Oil giant Sinopec and China Life Insurance, Aluminium Corporation of China, PetroChina and a separate Sinopec entity, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co, each said they would apply to delist their American Depository Shares this month. They will keep their listings in Hong Kong and mainland China.

In May, the US Securities and Exchange Commission flagged the five companies and many others as failing to meet US auditing standards. The companies did not mention the dispute in their announcements, which come as tensions mounted after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.

Beijing and Washington are in talks to resolve a long-running audit dispute which could result in Chinese companies being banned from US exchanges if China does not comply with Washington’s demand for complete access to the books of U.S.-listed Chinese companies.

Beijing bars foreign inspection of audit documents from local accounting firms, citing national security concerns.