Since Sina Corp first went public using the VIE structure on New York’s Nasdaq in 2000, hundreds of Chinese firms have taken the same path. Photo: Bloomberg Since Sina Corp first went public using the VIE structure on New York’s Nasdaq in 2000, hundreds of Chinese firms have taken the same path. Photo: Bloomberg
Since Sina Corp first went public using the VIE structure on New York’s Nasdaq in 2000, hundreds of Chinese firms have taken the same path. Photo: Bloomberg
Business /  Markets

Legally ambiguous ‘VIE’ structure means foreign investors don’t technically own overseas-listed Chinese stocks – and that could spell disaster

  • To skirt China’s restrictions on foreign investment in certain industries, many firms adopt a complex VIE structure which falls into a legal grey area
  • Beijing has so far remained silent on the subject, but if it decided to clamp down, the effects would be devastating

Topic |   US-listed Chinese stocks
Yujing Liu
Yujing Liu

Updated: 4:29pm, 21 Dec, 2020

Why you can trust SCMP
Since Sina Corp first went public using the VIE structure on New York’s Nasdaq in 2000, hundreds of Chinese firms have taken the same path. Photo: Bloomberg Since Sina Corp first went public using the VIE structure on New York’s Nasdaq in 2000, hundreds of Chinese firms have taken the same path. Photo: Bloomberg
Since Sina Corp first went public using the VIE structure on New York’s Nasdaq in 2000, hundreds of Chinese firms have taken the same path. Photo: Bloomberg
READ FULL ARTICLE