NYSE moves to remove Chinese oil company

The Big Board’s regulatory arm stipulates that Cnooc “is no longer suitable for listing” in the light of the executive order, which Mr. Trump signed in November. The order remains in force under the Biden administration.

Cnooc, one of the major Chinese state-owned oil and gas producers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company will still have shares listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, even after the listing of the NYSE. But U.S. investors currently owning Cnooc’s NYSE-listed stocks may struggle to convert them into overseas stocks, and many will prefer to sell in the coming days. The NYSE-listed shares fell 2.8% to $ 118.74 on Friday.

In January, the NYSE launched three Chinese telecommunications companies led by Mr. Trump’s executive order was covered, dismissed, after a staggering back-and-forth in which the Big Board first said it was delisting, and then tracing, only to turn itself around again. People familiar with the matter have blamed the return of NYSE for confusing guidance from the outgoing government.

Some U.S. investors sold their shares in Chinese telecommunications at a loss before the order went into effect in January, while others were not trapped with shares they could not sell or transfer due to trade restrictions. effects.

Cnooc was not on the initial list of Chinese companies covered by Trump’s order when he signed it in November, but it was added later, and therefore the NYSE has so far not acted to delist Cnooc.

The assignment of mr. Trump has banned Americans from trading securities of dozens of Chinese companies, although only a few of them have a significant presence in the U.S. capital market. The purpose of the order was to seize US investors’ money to help Beijing’s efforts to modernize its military and security services. It came amid a series of other last-minute moves by the Trump administration that locked up tough policies against China before President Biden took office.

Earlier Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden government was planning to implement a Trump-era rule aimed at combating Chinese technological threats next month due to objections from U.S. businesses.

This rule – which is separate from the executive order that led to the listing of the NYSE – allows the Department of Commerce to ban technology-related business transactions that it believes are a threat to national security. of the effort to secure U.S. supply chains.

Write to Alexander Osipovich by [email protected]