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Despite delisting concerns, the number of Chinese companies on US equity markets rises

  • A congressional report says as many as 248 China-based companies are trading on US markets, up from 217 seven months earlier
  • Chinese firms raised US$17.5 billion in IPOs in the most recent year, more than four times the US$4.1 billion raised in the same period a year earlier, data shows

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A congressional report released on Thursday found that American equity markets remain appealing for Chinese companies, despite recent moves to delist some of them. Photo: Reuters

The number of Chinese companies listed on US equity markets have risen 14 per cent in the past seven months despite Washington’s intensifying efforts to limit market access to businesses it deems a security threat.

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As of May 5, as many as 248 Chinese companies were listed on major US stock exchanges – Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange, and NYSE American – up from 217 on October 2, according to a report released on Thursday by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a congressional advisory body. During that time, 17 Chinese companies were also delisted from US exchanges.

In the year ending in April, Chinese companies have raised a total of US$17.55 billion in US initial public offerings, more than four times the US$4.1 billion raised during the same period a year earlier, Dealogic data shows. The 12-month volume was the highest since April 2015.

“US capital is cheap right now, and Chinese companies, like US companies, did not want to miss the gold rush,” said Benn Steil, director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Matthew Kennedy, a senior IPO strategist at Renaissance Capital in New York, added that the activity showed the Chinese business view that “while Hong Kong will always be there, they may not always be able to list in the US.

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