WIKIFX REPORT: FIVE STATE-OWNED CHINESE COMPANIES TO DELIST FROM NYSE

Five state-owned Chinese companies, including the country's leading energy and chemical company, have chosen to delist from the New York Stock Exchange by the end of August.

In separate statements issued Friday, China Life Insurance, PetroChina, Sinopec, Aluminum Corporation of China and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical said they had notified the NYSE and applied for “voluntary delisting.”

All five companies cited “low turnover in the US” and “high administrative burden and costs” as their reason for the departure.

The five were in May were identified by the U.S. securities regulator as not meeting its auditing standards. They would maintain their listings in mainland Chinese and Hong Kong markets.

Washington and Beijing are in negotiations to resolve an audit dispute which may potentially lead to Chinese companies being barred from U.S. exchanges if they dont comply with U.S. rules. Washington has for long demanded complete access to the books of Chinese companies listed in the U.S., but China does not allow foreign inspection of audit documents from local accounting firms due to national security concerns.

The auditing dispute was not mentioned in separate statements by the Chinese companies, whose moves come amid heightened tensions after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week visited Taiwan.