Beijing protests over move to delist Chinese telecoms firms from New York Stock Exchange

China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom Hong Kong will be removed from the NYSE to comply with an executive order from Donald Trump

Commerce ministry in Beijing says US is abusing national security concerns and vows to safeguard firms’ interests

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The New York Stock Exchange has started the delisting process. Photo: AP

Published: 9:53pm, 2 Jan 2021Updated: 10:47pm, 3 Jan 2021

China protested on Saturday over the US move to delist China’s three largest state-run telecoms groups from the New York Stock Exchange and said it will take the “necessary measures” to safeguard its companies’ interests.

The NYSE said on Thursday it was starting the process of delisting China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom Hong Kong to comply with a Trump administration executive order issued in November that bars US investments in Chinese firms suspected of having ties to the Chinese military.

The three companies will be delisted between January 7 and January 11, according to a statement by the exchange.

The executive order has also resulted in a series of companies being removed from indexes compiled by MSCI, S&P Dow Jones Global Indices and FTSE Russell.

In May the US Federal Communications Commission barred China Mobile from operating in the US. In December, it ordered carriers to remove equipment made by Huawei Technologies, and started looking into whether China Telecom should be allowed to operate in the country.