NYSE decides to withdraw capital from Chinese oil company

The regulatory arm of the Big Board determined that Cnooc “was no longer suitable for listing” in light of the executive order, which Trump signed in November. The request remained in effect under the Biden administration.

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

The company will continue to have shares listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, even after the NYSE goes public. But American investors who currently hold Cnooc shares listed on the NYSE may find it difficult to convert them into shares abroad and many may decide to sell them in the coming days. NYSE-listed shares fell 2.8% on Friday, to $ 118.74.

In January, the NYSE withdrew three Chinese telecommunications companies that were covered by Trump’s executive order, after a disconcerting shuttle in which the Big Board first said it was withdrawing them, then backtracked, only to revert again. People familiar with the matter blamed the NYSE reversals on the outgoing government’s confused guidance.

Some American investors sold their shares in Chinese telecommunications companies at a loss before the order went into effect in January, while others were not tied to shares they were unable to sell or transfer due to restrictions on securities trading.

Cnooc was not on the initial list of Chinese companies covered by Trump’s request when he signed it in November, but was added later, which is why the NYSE has not taken steps to remove Cnooc so far.

Trump’s order banned Americans from trading securities of dozens of Chinese companies, although only a few of them have a significant presence in U.S. capital markets. The order’s aim was to prevent American investors’ money from helping Beijing’s efforts to modernize its military and security services. This came amid a series of other last-minute measures by the Trump administration, which adopted tough policies against China before President Biden took office.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden government plans to allow a Trump-era rule designed to combat threats from Chinese technology to take effect next month, despite objections from American companies.

This rule – which is separate from the executive order that led to the exclusion from the NYSE – allows the Department of Commerce to prohibit business transactions related to technology that it determines to pose a threat to national security, part of an effort to protect US supply chains. USA.

Write to Alexander Osipovich at [email protected]